Mt Olympus High School
by firevixen73
Summary: Inuyasha is a god of the school and Kagome is an average tomboy trying to get by, wait they're 4 godesses as well, so who are they? The gods are going to figure it out if its the last thing they do & it just might be if the goddesses have anything to say
1. Welcome to Class

Firevixen73-I don't own Inuyasha or company! I know, it's sad, tear. By the way this disclaimer is for the whole story.

"Talking"

'Thought'

Chapter 1-"Now"

* * *

Kagome walked into her 1st period classroom. 'Chemistry, blah. I hate chemistry, in fact, I really hate any type of science. English, now that's my class.' She thought to herself. Kagome looked around the room in attempt to find her only solace in the class she called hell. Finally she saw a girl from the back of the room waving at her, indicating saved seats. Kagome quickly walked over to the waving girl glad to have scored seats in the back of the room. 

"Hey Sango," She said to the beaming girl. Quickly she scanned over the girl's outfit, completely impressed. She had on black baggy boy jeans with a loose fitting gray T-shirt on, topped off with a hat over her head. Even if the hat had been off, it wouldn't have mattered because her dark sunglasses covered her face.

"Hey Kag's, nice army boots," She said while looking over at Kagome's similar outfit.

"Thanks, got them on E-bay, came yesterday, dirt cheap," Kagome said casually. The two friends looked at each other for a few seconds and burst out laughing. Kagome sat down next Sango, in the saved seat, and scanned the room. As much as she loved her army boots, she glanced down at them, and her baggy sweatshirt, she missed her regular clothes. But, as long as she was at school, there was nothing she could particularly do about it. Ok, that was a strait up lie, there was nothing she was currently willing to do about it. To take up her own clothes, the ones currently sitting in her closet she would have to give up more then she currently wanted to loose.

Kagome glanced at Sango, "I was at Payless the other day and there were these kick ass heels there. Boots actually, really classy too. They were silver with four and a half inch heals, maybe a centimeter thick. Reached up to my knees."

Sango looked over at Kagome, "Those do sound nice, did they have them in my size?"

Kagome shrugged, "Honestly didn't look. Your feet are huge."

Kagome dodge a punch, "My feet are not huge! Seven in a half is _normal_," Sango pretended to pout, this was a daily routine for them.

Kagome smiled, "Hey, I'm a size six, _everything_ is huge to me."

"Student's quiet down, it's time to start class," Said the teacher, in a rather annoyed voice, but as usual everyone just kept on talking, completely ignoring the teacher.

"Sango, I don't know how you can actually like this junk," Said Kagome while stretching her back while sitting in her seat. She felt a good pull on her muscles and relaxed once again.

"Kag's, what are you talking about? Science is the absolute best!" She practically yelled. Sango had always been a science person, ever since they were little. Even as a child the girl was always blowing up something while Kagome was reading on the side line. In the end, Sango would eventually join her friend on the patio, both knowing full well that whatever that toy had originally been, it was never going to be used again…even if you somehow did manage to find all the pieces. Yes, even then Sango was as violent as ever, well, some things just weren't destined to change over time.

"What are _you_ talking about? And it's first thing in the morning. Well, I guess it wouldn't be so bad if-" Kagome didn't get to finish her sentence. Suddenly there was a loud banging noise and the chemistry door flung open to reveal two boys entering.

The one on the left had semi-short black hair tied up in a loose ponytail and was wearing a purple shirt with black baggy jeans. But the most noticeable thing about him were the 'prayer beads' around his hand, which he claimed to have a curse on in and needed to bear children to keep his line from dying out. Really they had been bought at a dollar store by one of the household maids. He found them a week later on the counter and claimed them for himself after remembering the story of the priest with the cursed wind tunnel from his history class. Any chance for a good feel the man was sure to take.

In the front of him, was,_ him. _With his long silver hair and dog-ears perched on top of his head, he wore a red shirt, which supposedly indicated power. Yes, this one also enjoyed twisting history to his own amusement.

Kagome sighed and continued her interrupted sentence. "…if only Inuyasha wasn't here."

* * *

Inuyasha walked into his Chemistry class and made a quick glance around the room. To his left were the jocks, playing paper football. To his right were the fan club girls trying to beckon them over. In the middle were the cheerleaders, his ex-girlfriend Kikyo being in the center. Other people were scattered throughout the room variously. 

Then he looked over to the back of the room to see Kagome and Sango. Man those girls were weird and annoying. Why did they dress like that anyways? He had known them in middle school and they dressed 'normal' back then, not to mention all of them had been pretty good friends. He, quite honestly, had absolutely no idea what they looked like anymore.

They were always wearing those baggy clothes, you couldn't tell if they had great bodies or not. Then they would always hide their faces with hat's and sunglasses. It was like they did it on purpose or something. It really was a shame, took all the fun out of looking at them.

'I mean if they were really good looking I'd possible try them out, probably that wolf Kouga too.'

Inuyasha started to think harder about why a person would want to dress like that. Either they were just extremely ugly, or just plain weird. 'Wait, why the hell am I suddenly caring? I got everything a guy could want, athletics, women, money, women, looks and women.'

"Inuyasha!" Yelled the teacher. "We are starting class now." All the fan club girls looked at the teacher murderously. She had just broken one of the biggest rules. She had reprimanded one of the school gods, well; it was ok, as long as he wasn't punished.

Inuyasha just feh'd and threw his books on the nearest desk only to hear smirking noises coming from the back of the room. He growled to himself. 'Stupid girls, making me think and getting me into trouble.' Now he was really pissed.

"Hey Inu, you ok?'

"What?" He said dazedly to Miroku.

"Well, you just growled, and you usually only do that when…" he started to trail off, in truth, there were a lot of thing that Inuyasha growled about but it seemed to mainly revolve around Sesshomaru and Kouga or woman problems, which didn't happen very often. Well, at least the last one didn't. Really the only woman problems Inuyasha, or any of the gods, ever had pertained to Kagome, Sango, Rin or Ayame.

"Whatever, I'm fine, just that Kagome and her friend got on my nerves. Actually, were getting them back at lunch," When he was younger his mom told him to get a hobby, he did, it was terrorizing Kagome and all of her friends. It was one of his very favorite pastimes.

Miroku looked at him slightly mortified. "Seriously dude, what do you have against Kagome and Sango? We used to be pretty good friends with them back in Elementary school."

"Since when do you care?" Asked a mad Inuyasha.

"Since rumor has it, they're friends with Eri and Cat."

"Letch," Inuyasha grumbled, though he couldn't really argue, he was just as bad, probably worse. The only difference was that he wasn't as 'open' about wanting someone like Miroku was. That was a lie, when he wanted someone they knew it, and they always came begging. Every girl in this school wanted him, well, maybe not Kagome and her bitchy friends, but they weren't exactly what Inuyasha wanted pining after him either.

"And proud of it," Miroku said with a perverted smile.

"Whatever, were getting them back at lunch. You're going to have to find another way to 'befriend' Eri and Cat," He replied menacingly.

* * *

Kagome and Sango walked into the lunchroom together. Kagome looked over at Sango. "Are you sure about this?" She asked obviously unsure about what was going to happen next. 

"Only partially, but the fries are killer," She said while grabbing Kagome's arm and dragging her into the chaotic clutter of students, food and other various things.

* * *

Miroku stood in the center of a group of friends, all-waiting for the signal. In truth, Miroku loved terrorizing Sango and company. They were a relief from the stress of life. Putting spit wads in someone's hair and writing messages about them on the lockers, it was so relaxing. Besides, Sango had a great ass; he could stare at it for hours. Well, at least he could picture her having a great ass, couldn't really see anything through her clothes. 

He looked over the crowed to see the two targets walking by. "Hey, Inuyasha, there they are. Ok, almost there, a few more seconds, and NOW!" yelled a triumphant Miroku.

* * *

While Kagome was being dragged by Sango she saw a flash of silver. Inuyasha, great, now what is that ass up to? She quickly glanced around but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She looked closer because she knew Inuyasha, and there was no way he wasn't planning something. Something was up, something was always up. She scanned the faces of everyone around her until she noticed that the male population mainly surrounded them. Closer examination showed her to see themselves slowly being surrounded by baseball jockeys. 

'Baseball payers huh, probably means they're going to be throwing something. Better warn Sango, she'll kill me if she gets hit with something and I don't.' She quickly jabbed Sango in the gut but motioned for her too keep moving.

Sango quickly caught the urgency in Kagome and glanced around the room to notice obviously what Kagome had wanted her to see. The ice cream line was empty! Yes, usually it was packed with baseball jocks. This was total bliss. They had the best ice cream at the school store.

Kagome mentally slapped herself. 'Why me?' then she reached up and made Sango's hair do a helicopter.

Sango tried to think of what Kagome could possibly be up to. Why the hell was Kagome making my hair do a helicopter, she knows that means 360 security check? I mean, with Inuyasha as an enemy you've always got to be prepared.

Kagome just walked along side Sango waiting for it to click.

Sango was still walking through a mess of people, trying to figure out what was going on, and then it dawned on her. "Duh." She said out loud. Sango then quickly glanced around to see about 16 baseball players surrounding them.

'Well, that explains why the ice cream line was empty.' She looked over at Kagome to indicate that she had gotten the message. The girls walked over next to a group of people when they suddenly heard a loud,

"NOW!"

-----------------------------------

Firevixen73- I hope everyone likes it, please review and tell me what you think! The next chapter is called Saved by Cheerleaders! So I just wanted to make it clear that baggy clothes and no one seeing what they look like is not actually what the girls wear outside of school. Only when they are at school, and the male population of the school has only seen them in baggy clothes. I think that is it, if you have any questions ask away! I know this chapter was short, I promise, all my chapters are longer. This was just the intro so I made it short on purpose. I usually write at least duble this. Please review!


	2. Saved by Cheerleaders

Firevixen73-Hey, I hoped everyone liked it so far. I know the whole idea of gods and goddesses of the school didn't really come across, but I really just wanted to show you what is always going on between the main characters. This next chapter is major information section. So pay attention. Thanks for reviews also!

Chapter 2

Saved by cheerleaders, and Saturday night.

Inuyasha knew it was over for the two girls as soon as the word 'now' had been yelled. There was no possible way they could get out of this one. They had been completely surrounded by his men, and they didn't really have anyplace to move considering all the different clicks they were walking by. If they disrupted any of them, they would get their heads chewed of, I mean, they were out casts for a reason. He looked over at where the two girls would be. Wait! No, no, no, Noooo!

As soon as Kagome and Sango had heard the word 'now', they knew they had to act fast. They each quickly jumped into the nearby clutter of students, landing safely in the middle of the huddle. As soon as they landed they went flat on their stomachs, trying to avoid any possible hits.

The baseball team soon noticed their targets were gone and scanned the room, in pure anticipation, to find them in the middle of the cheerleading team's group huddle. Acting on instinct they immediately threw the sour milk filled balloons in their direction only to late realizing they had made an awful mistake. Never piss of cheerleaders; they have friends, a whole drenched squad of them.

Inuyasha just looked at the horrible mess is balloon squad had gotten into. Chaos, pure chaos.

Kagome and Sango just smiled as the idiots threw the balloons. 'Morons' they thought in unison. They covered their ears to block out the banchi screams of the very unhappy squad of cheerleaders.

Miroku opened his eyes to find the whole cheerleading squad drenched in sour milk and two perfectly dry tomboys in the center, smiles beaming from their covered faces.

"Who the hell did this!" Screamed a furious Kikyo.

"Why I do believe that was the baseball team." Said a delighted Sango.

"But as to who put them up to it…" Kagome let Kikyo's mind wander, while she brushed non-existent dust of her pants. 'Three two one.'

"Inuyasha! Miroku!" Screamed the entire squad.

"Zero." Said Kagome and Sango, once again in unison.

"Oh shit." Said a both frantic Inuyasha and Miroku.

The school week was finally over. "Finally," said an exhausted Kagome. "I thought the weekend would never come."

"I know. Personally, I think the government is secretly tacking on extra hours of the day to make us go to school longer." She said while stretching her arms.

"Ya, that's right up there with the god's having actual hearts, and not stone cold slabs of ice." Kagome said dully.

Kagome and Sango immediately broke out in laughter.

"I can't believe I just listen to that with a strait face." Said Sango between laughs.

"Hey you just listened, I had to say it."

"True, so very true." She wiped a tear away from her face. "But really Kag's it makes perfect sense. Their bored, so they want to make everyone else bored. That's why vigilantes are so much cooler. They work for the law, outside of the law."

"200 say's she becomes a cop." Kagome said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing. You do know your just saying all this stuff because your ancestors were demon slayers."

"So, there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, you come from a long line of miko's, that's why you like to help people so much."

"Ya, ya, I know. Oh, speaking of demons and stuff, Shippo's parents wanted us to baby-sit Saturday. I told them no because, well, you know, the meeting. They said that's fine, they could get Shippo's older cousins to watch him." Kagome said seriously, obviously thinking about the meeting in the near future. She knew what they were going to be talking about. It was going to be about the gods. They had broken a few too many hearts to go unrepremanded.

"Our little Shippo is growing up. I hope these older cousins are nice. I mean, we've been Shippo's baby sitters since he was a newborn." Sango got an extremely evil look on her face. "Whoever these cousins are better be nice." She cracked her knuckles. "Or they deal with me."

Kagome just giggled. " I agree, now come on, let's get out of these clothes. I just bought this killer green mini skirt that you absolutely have to see."

"Only if I can show you my new pink halter top!" She squealed out.

Firevixen73- ok, I almost stopped here but figured I should actually start giving you part of the story.

(Inuyasha and company)

Inuyasha sat at the dinner table, practically sucking in his food. 'Stupid Kagome,' he thought bitterly. All he wanted was to teach that bitch a lesson for messing with his head but no; she had to dodge into a pile of cheerleaders. He forgot how loud they could scream. He liked it much better when they are on the sidelines cheering him on, apposed to yelling in his face.

Inuyasha took the last bite of his now not existant stake. 'At least she can't spoil my plans for Saturday. Let's see, I'm meeting Yura at 7:00, dump her, Cat at 8:00 and Kikyo at 11:00.' Even with the whole balloon thing, they still all wanted to date him.

He smirked at the mere thought of how women just flocked to him. For some reason they didn't even pay attention to his rep, or even their own experience, as long as they got a piece of him and could call him theirs, they'd come. Then as soon as he would get what he wanted, he'd dump them like they never were. They were like pets, and then as soon as you called them back for some more, they came running. 'This is the everyday life of the Supreme god. Wouldn't give it up for anything.'

"Inuyasha."

He looked up to see his mom talking to him.

"Inuyasha, you and Sesshomaru are going over to your Aunt and Uncles house tomorrow night, so cancel any plans you might have." Said Inuyasha's mother trying to avoid the stares of disbelief her son's were giving her.

"What? But why? I am not canceling my plans." Said Inuyasha rather forcefully.

"I agree, I am much to busy." Said Sesshomaru calmly.

"Sorry boys. It's your father's orders." She clapped her hands together, indicating that they were done eating. Soon three maids came through the door and picked up the plates, quickly caring them away.

"You see, we're going out with them Saturday night and their normal baby sitters were already busy, and you two really don't know your little cousin Shippo very well, so your father offered your services."

Both of her sons looked at her angrily. They each had things to do, 'oddly' enough, both were on the same type of schedule. Party, women, race, women, and all the other things their parents didn't know about.

She looked at them sympathetically before walking out the dinning room door. "Ok, I guess Miroku and Kouga can help you two out, but that's it. I hear about anyone else and no cars for two weeks. Which, yes, that means you both will be riding the bus. And a little tip, apparently he likes to run off, so keep an eye on him."

Lady Tashio then turned around and walked out the door but the two remaining people in the room could have sworn they heard her voice saying, "Their father is going to kill me."

(Saturday Night)

"I cannot believe we're stuck here, watching him." Said Sesshomaru pleadingly as he watched the little kitsune jumping from furniture to furniture saying, "I want to play with this, no this, no this!"

"That's it, I can't take it anymore." Yelled Inuyasha ready to pull his long silver hair out. "That brat's gonna get it." He then charged for the hyper Shippo, the look of an experienced serial killer beaming through his eyes. Miroku and Koga just nodded their heads in agreement.

"I want his tail." Yelled Miroku as both him and Kouga helped Inuyasha attack the unsuspecting Shippo.

Sesshomaru just shook his head. "Correction, I can't believe I'm stuck here, watch them."

(Kagome and comp.)

"Oh, this is great!" Said Sango finally letting herself relax.

"I know." Said an equally relaxed Rin. "I've been so busy, it's nice to finally get a break."

Ayame and Kagome just nodded in agreement as they both sunk lower into the mineral water.

The four girls sat awhile longer in the hot springs mineral water. Not many people knew about this place, so it was real quite. They came here so often the owner actually gave them their own private room, well, that and she also used to go to Mt. Olympus High School.

"So," said Ayame clapping her hands together, "first order of business, time to check the box." She pulled a pink piece of paper from the oversized blue shoebox. She read to herself and sighed. "It's from Eri, and she wants up to do something about the male ego problem in our school, specifically, the four gods."

(Inuyasha and comp.)

"I'm hungry, you should cook me something." Said Shippo after his 'little' energy burst. Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga, came panting up behind him. "By the way," said Shippo smiling, "that was a great game, I love tag."

The three boys just rolled their eyes and collapsed onto the floor. Three of the four fastest runners in the school couldn't catch a little kid. That was just sad.

"Sesshomaru," panted Miroku, "your turn."

Sesshomaru walked over to them and shook his head. " A whole hour and you couldn't catch him?"

"He's fast!" Yelled Inuyasha defensively, but he was too tired for an attempt on his brother's life, he slumped back down on the floor, exhausted.

Sesshomaru walked back over to the kitchen and a few minutes later and reappeared caring four plates, each of them flowing over with sandwiches, chips and ice cream. "Yay!" Screamed a fully excided Shippo. The three others on the floor, being just as exited, ran towards the food. When finally reaching their target it was basically breathed in.

Inuyasha, still being slightly tired, sat down on the couch, ready for some heavy-duty relaxation, when he suddenly felt something furry, small and warm on his lap. When he looked down he was shocked to see Shippo cuddled up and clinging onto his shirt, eyes only partially open.

"Can you tell me a story, please?" He said quietly.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Sorry kid, don't know any."

"Then tell me what high schools like. Are you guys really popular?"

"Yes actually," Said Sesshomaru while taking a seat in the lazy chair across the room. "You see, we go to Mt. Olympus High School, and there are four representatives for the men, and four for the women. The actual name, gods and goddesses, took their title after our school. We happen to be the four rulers for the men. Next to the principal, we have the utmost authority in the school. I am the God of Knowledge, Kouga is the God of Sport, Miroku is the God of Jest and Inuyasha is the Supreme God."

"Wait a minute." Kouga looked at Sesshomaru puzzlingly. "You mean to tell us that there are goddesses?"

Shippo's eye's shot open. He was almost asleep, just listening to the different sounds of his older cousins voice when he heard it. They were the god's of Mt. Olympus High, and were currently talking about the goddesses. This was not good. 'Change subject, must change subject.' "Let's play tag."

"Yes there are." Said Sesshomaru.

"How come we've never heard of them?" Asked Inuyasha.

"If you don't want to play tag, then how about pin the tail on Miroku." Pleaded Shippo.

"Well, for some reason they've kept their identities under wraps. You see, just like us they are elected in Junior High and then trained. Finally they take their position in High School."

"My dad has a stash of old playboys, I can show you where it is." Said Shippo ready to throw himself on the ground.

"Ok, well who are they then?" Asked Kouga.

"Truthfully, I don't know. They've been able to keep it a secret. They even managed to have all the other girls acting like their normal. My guess is that they just act regular at school, but when schools out they take on their roles as goddesses and leaders for the rest of the women at school."

"So, they could be anyone?" Asked Inuyasha.

"Anyone." Nodded Sesshomaru.

"So what are they goddesses of?" Asked Miroku. "Hopefully one of them is fertility or love." He said winking.

"Letch." Said Kouga rolling his eyes.

"So," Asked Inuyasha curiously. "What are they?"

Sesshomaru's lip turned up into a very slight smile. His brother was actually curious? And it was an innocent type of curious too. That's a change. Maybe he's on drugs and didn't tell anyone.

"Sesshomaru, you bastard, are you going to tell us or not?"

Or it could just be a one-time thing. Yes, defiantly a onetime thing. "Inuyasha, shut up." He said emotionlessly.

"Bastard." Inuyasha got up ready to fight.

"As I was saying, there are four goddesses, first the Goddess of Wisdom, then the Goddess of Speed, the Goddess of Strength and last the Supreme Goddess."

Kouga let out a deep breath, one he didn't realize he had been holding. That's when he noticed something was very wrong, a quiet type of wrong. "Oh shit, where's Shippo?" He yelled. All four men looked around only to find the little kitsune gone.

"This is not good." Nobody was in the right state of mind to figure out who had said it, all that they knew, was that it was true.


	3. Saturday Night

FireVixen73- Hey everyone, I hope everything is a bit more clear now. Oh, and I kind of messed up, I didn't mean to say the goddess of speed but the goddess of art. Sorry, bad on my part. But just incase you didn't get it last time.

Inuyasha-Supreme

Miroku-Jest

Kouga- Sport

Sesshomaru-Knowledge

For the girls---

Supreme

Strength

Art

Wisdom

FireVixen73- And there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is when you know a lot of facts while wisdom is more like street smarts. That actually comes into play in the story. Well, I hope you enjoy it. RR

Shippo sat in the back seat of the bright yellow cab, carefully buckled in, just like Kagome had taught him. He had just started not having to sit in the car seat and was extremely grateful for it. He felt so much more grown up now that he sat in the normal chair. Only problem was that now he couldn't see out the window, but he wasn't about to say anything, just in case.

"I really messed up." He whispered to himself. He cast his eyes down into his lap, where his hands lay together. He was really sorry about asking his cousins about the goddesses, he just wanted to hear the sound of someone's voice, to lull him to sleep.

He knew about the goddesses. Of course he knew. Kagome and the others were them, they had girls over everyday asking about what to do about guys, teachers, decorations, homework, how to improve their game, ect..… You name it, it was asked.

He held a lot of pride in the fact that the girls trusted him enough to handle their secret. He knew they didn't want any guys from school or out of school to know. They didn't want all the pressure of goddesses and school, then boys constantly at their door. No, they already had enough pressures.

"I really, really messed up."

The guy driving the taxi turned around to face Shippo, eliminating any small pocket of fresh air Shippo was breathing from. After holding back the gags, for lack of air, Shippo looked up and faced the driver. He was a chubby balding man with a little bit of remaining brown hair on the very top of his head, who looked to be in his mid 40's.

"Listen kid. I've listened to you beat yourself up about whatever it is you did for the past half hour and it's getting old." The driver scratched his head and glanced back at the road to swerve out of the way of another cars path. Shippo grabbed onto the door handle for his life. Sure he was just a kid and didn't know that many people, but that didn't mean no one cared about him. The driver turned back around to face Shippo, only this time keeping one eye on the road.

"What I was saying is that your just a little guy. A kid. There is no reason you should be beating yourself up. And if these girls really care about you like they sound like they do, it won't matter. They'll forgive you and work around it." The driver focused the remainder of his attention on the road and got off the next exit.

"Were here, and remember what I said."

Shippo got out and shut the door. He walked over to the driver and pulled out some money, but he just smiled and shook his head. "A youg'in like you's already got enough on his plate. Well call it even. I got a brake from the idiots on the cell phones telling me how I should have spent more time in school and you got a ride."

Shippo just looked at the man confused. "But, but that's not fair." He said trying to hand him the money once again.

"Little piece of wisdom kid, life's not fair. You just happen to be experiencing the up side of that saying." The cab was quickly out of sight before the little fox had any chance to argue.

"I like that man, and once you get used to it, the smells not as bad." He said smiling to himself. Shippo then skipped over to the front desk, the words of the cabby giving him back his confidence. He looked over the counter but couldn't see anything, but he could sure as hell hear a woman's voice. Shippo jumped up as high as he could, trying to get her attention.

"Hello…" His feet once again hitting the floor. "Can you…" He once again jumped back up. "Help me?"

The woman was still talking on the phone, so, realizing that wasn't going to work, he did the next best thing.

He screamed.

"Mommy, mommy, I've lost my mommy!"

The woman immediately hung up the phone and ran around the back of the desk to meet up with the screaming child.

"What's wrong? Can I help you at all?" She asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Yes. I cant remember what room my mommy is in. It should be under goddesses." He said with every trace of the helpless child gone.

The woman got up and leaned over her desk to look up the name. She quickly typed it in and the room number 004 came up. "Well it seems as if your mommy is rich, that's one of our nicest rooms. If you would just follow me I'll take you there." She said very professionally, immediately regretting how she had ignored the young kitsune earlier.

The woman led the young fox down a hallway and into a large elevator. She pressed the button saying 'S' and it started heading down. Finally, the doors opened to an outside hot springs. She quietly continued and stepped out of the elevator and followed the winding path.

Shippo was amazed. It was all so beautiful. There were trees, flowers, springs; it was all just so amazing. He was so into the scenery that he bumped into the young receptionist when she suddenly stopped. Shippo rubbed his nose and was about to apologize, like Kagome had always told him to, when she said it instead.

"Oh, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. Please accept my apology." She said almost pleadingly.

Shippo was utterly confused. Then he remembered what the woman had said about his 'mommy' being rich because of the nice room. She must think that if she's at all rude we wont come back. I could have some serious fun with this. But before he could say anything he thought of Kagome and what she would say to about being mean like that.

"It's um, ok. It was really my fault." He looked over at the door where she had stopped at. "Is this it?" He asked politely.

"Yes it is." The woman then knocked on the door and asked for permission to come in. "I'm sorry to disturb you but I have your son here with me. Seems he got lost."

Shippo heard shuffling noises come from the other side, then. "My son? But I don't…" But before the woman finished the sentence she opened the door. A woman in a forest green bikini and long raven black hair stepped out of the room to figure out what was going on.

"Kagome." Shippo shouted while jumping into her arms.

"Shippo, what are you…?" She said completely shocked, but Shippo cut in before she could finish her sentence.

"Mommy, this 'nice' woman helped me find you. I got lost when I was with daddy Inuyasha and Uncle Sesshomaru, Kouga and Miroku. I'm so glad I found you."

Kagome looked at the baby kitsune and registered everything he was saying. She looked over at the receptionist. "Well, um, thank you for helping my son, he was suppose to be with his 'father' tonight. I'll be sure to put in a good word."

"No trouble at all. My name is Yura by the way." The woman bowed politely, indicating respect and obvious satisfaction that she was going to get rewarded for her help.

"Thank you Yura."

The woman then quickly left, the same way she had came. Kagome shut the door and set Shippo down, now wanting a full explanation. What was this about 'daddy' Inuyasha? She almost gagged when she said it, she wanted answers. Wait, no, the two cousins that Shippo's parents had been talking about, don't tell me they were Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, she though pleadingly.

Her three friends walked over to also figure out what all the noise was about. They were all caught off guard when the woman said son, I mean, it's not everyday you mysteriously have a son. They were all relived when they saw it was Shippo but tensed up afterward when they realized he wouldn't be here unless it was extremely important. Wait, weren't his babysitters suppose to be watching him. Don't say he ran away again, they all thought.

"Mind telling us what's going on?" Asked a very concerned Rin.

The four could tell he was struggling with something. Like he wanted to tell them something but was to scared to. Kagome wrapped him in a bear hug and reassured him that it was ok, they were all friends. Shippo took a deep breath and finally said what was on his mind.

"It's the gods, Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga and Sesshomaru. They were babysitting me when Sesshomaru brought up the goddesses."

"You mean, they know about us now?" Asked Sango. "Man, if one of those cheerleading bimbos came by and spilt it. We specifically told them not tonight."

Shippo looked at Sango. It would be so easy to just lie and say, 'ya, one of them came by' but he knew that would be wrong. "No, it was my fault I know you four wanted to keep your identities as under wraps as possible, especially from the gods. I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was them, if I would have, I never would have asked about school." He said quietly while still looking at the floor.

"It's ok Shippo," said Ayame reassuringly. "They were bound to figure it out eventually. Our time is almost up anyway. So here." She said handing him a five-dollar bill. "Go get a snack."

As soon as he left the room, she turned around and looked at her friends. "What are we going to do?"

Sango just shook her head unknowingly, while Kagome sat down and went through the shoebox, wondering if this problem could somehow turn around into a solution for the many complaints they had received regarding the gods.

All right, it was time to take command she whispered to herself. "Screw it. We aren't going to solve anything by sitting around here worrying about it. So I'll tell you what, I'll take Shippo back while you guys try to think of something. Rin, as the goddess of Wisdom, I'm expecting a few ideas. Sango, as the goddess of Strength your partially war, so come up with every combination you can think of. Ayame, the goddess of art, be creative, think outside the box, draw a diagram or battlefield if you have to. Please just try. Meet me at my house in one hour, I should be able to drop Shippo off and have a few ideas of my own by then."

She turned around and headed for the car Sango and her had taken. Sango was already planning on riding back with Rin anyway. Shippo was soon close behind her with a very large ice cream cone in hand.

(Inuyasha and company)

Inuyasha and the others were to busy throwing furniture, flipping beds and hollering for the baby fox to notice the car that had quietly pulled up into the driveway.

"Where the hell is that kid?" Said a furious Kouga that was ready to kill the nearest living thing out of pure spite.

Just then Miroku walked into the room. "Well, he's not in any of the cookie jars." He said while wiping off chocolate from his face. "Hey, did you hear that they're changing the cookie monster song. Apparently it's not healthy enough." He said completely oblivious to the building frustration around him.

"You, you…" All three remaining boys charged at him. Yes, even the calm collective Sesshomaru was taking action.

"Don't you get it moron, if our parents find out we lost the kid, were busted. Then our dad will tell your dads and then you'll be busted with us on the back of the damn bus!" Inuyasha screamed while Sesshomaru held Miroku down, and Kouga stood over him, preparing to hit him over the head with a chair.

Kagome stood outside on the front porch listening to all the racket. She looked down at herself. Dam it. Ok, she had the loose hip-hop dance pants in her trunk from dance practice, but no sweatshirt. It was either her green two-piece tanning bathing suit, or a light gray tight belly shirt. Well, at least she had he sunglasses and hat.

"Oh well, guess I'm going to have to get this over with sometime." She had thought it over in the car and just couldn't bring herself to let Shippo face the gods' wrath alone. Sure it would solve part of the goddess dilemma if he did, but they would pulverize him the moment he walked in, especially without a plausible excuse.

She grabbed Shippo's hand and opened the door just in time to see Miroku being brutally held down with a chair hovering threateningly above his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

All four boys simultaneously turned around, baffled by the woman standing in front of them. She was absolutely gorgeous. She had on loose black pants that slimmed at the waist, accenting her toned and muscular stomach. Her shirt was a light gray color that didn't do much good covering up her wet green bathing suit that she wore underneath it. The water that had been absorbed into the suit was now sticking to her belly shirt that clung to her frame. The hat and sunglasses have off the look that she had just come from a rave and had been parting all night.

"What?" Asked Sesshomaru.

"It's an antique from about 500 years ago, not to mention its net value is about $9,000." She said while walking farther into the room.

Kouga slowly put down the chair, eyes still watching her every movement. "Who are you? Why do you seem so familiar, and what are you doing here?"

Kagome contemplated this. They didn't know who she was? Was this good or bad? Better tell them now before they figure it out themselves, because if that was to happen, they might actually stop to think about it closer. Like as to why I dress baggy but don't look it. Or why they can never seem to catch me or the others when it comes to fiascos like the balloon squad.

"You mean you seriously don't recognize me? Oh come on, you four have been terrorizing me and my friends for the past three years, four if I'm correct about you Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru was shocked. No, it couldn't be, could it? The pants, the sunglasses, the attitude. "Kagome?"

"Hey, look, the scarecrow found his brain." She said with sarcasm dripping from every word. "Look, I just came to return him." She pulled Shippo out from behind her. " I guess he missed me and wanted to visit, so, he did."

She then turned around to face Shippo, making sure the others couldn't see her face. Before she started she gave him a quick wink of reassurance.

"Listen Shippo, I know you missed me but you can't leave any time you want. No matter how much I want to see Inuyasha keel over out of pure pain, I cant let you do that ok? And besides, if anyone's parents found out, all of you would be in a whole bunch of trouble. So, don't tell anyone ok." She made sure so say the last part loud, as a reminder for the four listeners not to say a word, or hurt him, because she would make sure the paid for it.

"Ok Kagome, I just really missed you. Their fun and all but your like a mom, and I haven't seen you for a whole week." He said pouting.

"Alright, now go to bed, we'll talk about a punishment later." She kissed him on the forehead and sent him off to his room to get ready to go to sleep. " Well, I better be going, take good care of him and make sure he brushes his teeth." She said while walking out the door. She reached back for the door handle and closed it rather forcefully.

The gods just stood there, speechless. They didn't know what to think, the only thing they did know was that they couldn't do anything to Shippo for running out on them. Kagome had made that perfectly clear.

Firevixen73-hope everyone liked it. Any questions just ask.


	4. Taking Action

Firevixen73-Thanx for all the reviews! It's a real motivator to write a new chapter. And sorry about his one taking so long, school has been hectic lately. Well, I hope you like it. RR

Kagome swiftly got in her car and gunned it over to her house, while watching the gods, she realized something, they were speechless. No come backs, no attitude not even one remark. That gave her an idea, a pretty good one too. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't, but it was worth bringing up. She looked at the digital clock in her car, they should be at her house by now.

Kagome made a sharp turn deciding to take the back road to her house. It was faster and easier, but only if there wasn't a cop waiting to play tag I'm revoking your license, guess that should teach you not to speed, it really was their favorite game.

Kagome returned to her previous thought. It could work, and there really wasn't anyway it could backfire either. In the beginning, all the goddesses agreed that they didn't want to be treated differently by their status and that life was already complicated enough without trying to always be fashionable and keeping a boyfriend. Contrary to popular belief it is actually pretty hard.

So, as a compromise the four agreed that halfway through there term they would take their role as goddesses of the school but until then, they are normal and should be treated as such. They had already exceeded their limit anyway by two months. It had been decided that if they hadn't started acting their part by the semester it would be announced publicly at the season track tournament. So, until then, they were treated like everyone else, well, at least at school, after hours was a whole different ball game.

Oh hell no, she had just used a sports analogy; this is why you don't spend time with Kouga. She leaned her head on the steering wheel desperately trying get anything, her brief but agonizing moment with the gods, had instilled. She looked back up to see she was amazingly still on the road.

"I'm just that good." She whispered to herself. Then out of nowhere a cat jumped into the middle of the road. Kagome slammed on the brakes a put her steering wheel in a death grip. She immediately shut her eyes waiting for a loud thump, but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she had managed to stop about four inches in front of the small animal. The cat slowly looked up at her and turned around, walking back to the same direction it had come.

"Alright, no more boasting." She whispered to herself then slowly sped back up to her past speed. Then it hit her, the cat turned back around. "Maybe my plan will work. I mean, if that worked on an animal as smart as a cat, I'm positive my plan can work on idiots like the gods."

Kagome finally reached her house the see Rins car in her drive way. This might work, I mean Rin's going to probably have to touch it up a bit and I'm sure Sango and Ayame are going to have some say in it but, it could work." She got out of her car and shut the door. She quickly headed over to her house ready to talk about the little idea forming in her head.

Inuyasha laid in bed asleep. His body looked restless and agitated as it slept there, tossing and turning for hours on end. He might have been asleep, but his mind was anywhere but resting.

_Inuyasha was standing on the edge of a deep forest that cut off into a large mountain a few yards away from where he stood. You could tell this mountain was highly honored by all the gift and decorations scattered around it. They weren't cheap either, it had food, jewelry, animals, clothes, you name it, it was probably there. He looked a little farther to see a gold statue covered in elegant clothes and other gifts scattered around the base of its feet. A closer look at the face showed that it was a man, not just any man, but his brother Sesshomaru!_

_A million questions were racing through Inuyasha's mind. Sesshomaru's face was carved onto this gold statue? Why? What was with the presents scattered around his feet? And what's with the really weird clothes?_

_He was wearing one of those outfits that you would see in the Greek or Roman times. He remembered seeing it in that Julius Caesar movie they had to watch in English class, only this one was much more elegant. _

_He looked farther up the mountain to see three other figures as well. They were all dressed in a similar fashion with similar decorations. He looked closer to see the faces were Kouga, Miroku and him! Inuyasha soon realized that they were all standing in a strait line and they were all looking in one direction. He walked over to Sesshomaru's statue and faced the same way the statue was faced, to see four more statues, only difference was that they were woman._

_He ran over to the four figures and after about three minutes finally reached them. The faces were to cloudy to make out anything so he walked closer only to find out the closer he got the cloudier they became._

"_What's going on?" He whispered to himself._

_He looked down at the plaque, wondering how he didn't see it before. The plaque read, 'Goddess of Wisdom.' He looked over at the other plaques to see all the different goddess names, each of them reading either wisdom, art, strength or supreme. _

"_Who are they?" He asked himself._

"_Don't you know?" Asked a creaky voice from behind him._

_Inuyasha quickly spun around to see a woman in her mid 60's with long gray hair held back by a loose ponytail. "Principal Kayede?" _

_She just smiled and gave a slight laugh. "If you really want to know…" She pointed to a leaf covered area heading up the mountain._

_He cocked his head to the side. "I'm confused."_

_She just smiled again and suddenly there was a gust of wind that blew the leaves to the side to reveal a perfectly clear path._

_Inuyasha just stared at the newly cleared pathway in awe. Then it hit him, what the old hag was getting at. "I have to climb that? You're kidding? Maybe you didn't know this, but, I'm the Supreme God of Mt. Olympus High School, I don't do work"_

"_You will if you ever want to find out who the goddesses are. This is something you have to do for yourself, none of your little girlfriends will help you, they are too loyal, and absolutely none of the male population in your school knows. Like I said, it's all you."_

_Inuyasha looked at the pathway, contemplating what he was considering to do, then looked back over at Kayede, her stern face telling him how serious his decision was. "This is going to take a while." He grumbled to himself. He then stuck his hands in his pockets and stared to make his way up the narrow path._

_Kayede just smile, a little twinkle in her eyes. "Not as long as you might think my boy. Not as long as you might think." She whispered to no one in particular_

"Inuyasha what's wrong with your hands, there all scrapped up?" asked a concerned Miroku.

Inuyasha looked down at his beat up hands. They were all bruised and cut, but currently covered in bandages. "I don't know. I woke up this morning and they were, well, like this." He said thrusting his hands on the table.

"Really, that's fucked up." Said Kouga trying not to sound worried. I mean, him and dog turd did have a rep to keep.

"Ya, my feet too. They're really soar, like I had been walking all night, but that's not the weird part."

Sesshomaru looked over from his book wondering what the hell could be weirder than waking up with soar feet and scrapped up hands.

"Last night I had this freak ass dream."

"You had a dream? And remembered it? That's weird, I mean you haven't rememberedany of your dreams since, I think it was elementary school." Miroku continued to scratch his head.

"Ya, whatever, miracle, now shut up so I can finish, where was I, oh, that's right, the strange part." Inuyasha went into detail about his dream, making sure to include Principal Kayede, starting his journey up the mountain, climbing over various rocks and streams and most importantly the goddesses.

"Damn." Said a wowed Miroku. He picked up his large fries and stuffed them in his mouth. "You have a dream about climbing up a mountain and when you wake up you have all the proof, except for the memory, to say that you actually did it. Wish you would have made it to the top." He whispered the last part.

Suddenly a bell rang, indicating lunch was over. "Great, we're going to be late again." Said Sesshomaru slightly annoyed.

"So, it's no like it matters. Were the freaking gods of the school. No teacher is dumb enough to mark us down as tardy." Said an arrogant Inuyasha.

"You know Inuyasha, gods or not, you shouldn't abuse that gift, because that's all it is, a gift. And your not suppose to have food in the library."

The four gods turned around to see a 5 foot 7 girl with brown hair tied up in a half ponytail, glaring at them. Sesshomaru gave a slight growl, indicating his annoyance. The girl heard it and gave a small smirk over in his direction.

"Men really can be beasts at times, they just wear masks. Really _fluffy_, if your going to keep that masks on you should at least have the decency to keep the beast buried under it."

To say Sesshomaru was shocked was an understatement, but what got him even more was the fact that he didn't have a comeback for it. He had been tormenting her since a little before Junior High, and she caught him off guard? That was impossible, and what was with the new attitude of, 'I'm not taking your crap anymore', she never had that before. She would just stomp off beat red or glare at him, but this, she never started it, or fought back. What was going on? And the new clothes, they weren't as baggy, there was no hat either.

"Hey Rin." The girl turned around to face a 5 foot 2 reads head practically skipping over in their direction. "We should hurry, we don't want to be late for class." She said while popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

Kouga gave his own little growl at her entrance, very similar to Sesshomaru's pervious one.

She gave him a death con four glare. "Beasts should be neither seen nor heard, so do us a all a favor and shut that cave." The red head then turned back to her friend and started to talk as if nothing had ever happened. "Drop your book off yet? We only have two more minutes till class and it's across the school." She said while popping more popcorn into her mouth.

"Ya, I know, hey, can I have a piece?" she said while pulling out her book.

"Sure." The read head tossed her that bag.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Whatever happened to no food in the library?"

"There's a big difference there."

"And that would be?"

"One, we already asked if it was ok, two," She placed her finger on her chin as if she was thinking then looked over at him, "unlike you, I like her." The two girls walked of giggling, each with a little bit more of a bounce in their step. The four gods listened as they heard the door shut.

"That was weird." Said a fully confused Miroku.

"What? The fact that they talked to us willingly or the fact that they immediately started pounding us?" Asked a very un-amused Kouga.

"Well, that too, but did you see their outfits? Sure they both had sunglasses, but no hat, and their clothes weren't really that baggy."

"No, not really, I guess were just so use to seeing them a certain way, we just don't check anymore."

"Kind of like Kagome, would have guessed she a had a models body under all that fabric. Really, why would anyone want to cover that up?" Asked Miroku.

Inuyasha stared at them then sat up and grabbed his basketball bag. "Women are to complicated for my liking, especially when it comes to trying to figure them out, especially Kagome, Rin, Sango and Ayame."

"Agreed." Said all four simultaneously.

Miroku and Sesshomaru both got up and headed down the south hall to their next class while Kouga and Inuyasha went north, towards history.

Kagome sat in her history class waiting for the fun to begin. She had already explained the current situation to most of the teachers and they had all pretty much agreed with it. Today she had pulled aside Ms. Centipede and had already worked everything out. It was perfect, flawless, god she loved it when Rin had one of her famous brainstorms. All that was needed now were the little lab mice. Oh, look, here they come.

Suddenly the door burst open and in came Inuyasha and Kouga. "Ya, ya, we know were late, we wont do it again." Kouga walked by the teacher while saying his little speech, everyone knew they were late practically everyday.

"One more thing like that and detention for the both of you."

All the students looked at Professor Centipede in utter amazement. Well, all except one 5 foot 5 girl with long black hair sitting in the back, unnoticed.

Soon class was underway and the teacher stood up from her desk and walked over to the board and wrote down the dates for the French Revolution. Kagome smiled, now it was her turn. She pushed her books off her desk with her elbow and then acted like the noise had woken her up.

Professor Centipede looked at her sternly. "Kagome, did you have a nice nap during my lecture?"

Kagome yawned and stretched her arms out. "What can I say, your class is pretty boring."

Professor Centipede looked like her head was about to explode, but not before somehow managing to rip Kagome's off first.

Inuyasha on the other hand was shocked. Kagome! She just said that? To a teacher? In class? Has the Apocalypse come?

"Detention!" Yelled Professor Centipede.

"What?" She yelled while basically jumping out of her seat. "No, you can't do that I have a date!"

"Reschedule." She almost yelled.

"I can't, he's only two day's before he goes on trial."

Kikyo looked at Kagome curiously. "A trail? What for?"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "He sort of shot a guy."

Kouga and Inuyasha choked on their coke. Kagome's going on a date with a juvenile? I mean, a date! Neither one of them knew Kagome even dated, let alone a dangerous juvenile who killed people for sport.

"Sorry Kag's, detention is detention."

Then, a very unexpected thing happened, every single girl in the class went on defensive mode.

"No, you can't!"

"Give her a chance!"

"You can't do this to Kagome!"

Again, the two gods were stunned, they didn't know that Kagome even knew this many people here at school, let alone on good enough terms for them to be rushing to her defense.

"Sorry, it's decided." Professor Centipede raised her hand indicating that her decision was final and that that was it, no further discussion. Every one of the girls looked at the teacher as if she was a parent telling their child there was no such thing as the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause. First came shock, then disbelief, then last betrayal.

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms across her chest and then sat down in her seat, obviously sulking. But inside she was smiling knowing that it couldn't have been better. He it's not often Inuyasha is so surprised coke comes out of his nose.

The class finally started to return to its normal schedule with the teacher lecturing and the students sulking. Inuyasha and Kouga continued their normal routine of harassment until…

"Inuyasha, Kouga, Detention!" Said a thoroughly peeved History Professor.

"What?" They all but said calmly.

She picked up their now empty coke cans. "I've already had enough problems today and your adding to that little pile. I said earlier that I wasn't going to take anything toady, I thought I made that perfectly clear with Kagome but apparently you two weren't listening."

"But, we always have coke in class, you've never cared before, and did you forget the little part about us being the damn gods? You can't give us detention." They pretty much ordered, but unfortunately their teacher was not in the listening mood.

"I really don't care, you two will be joining Kagome after school."

Kagome suddenly perked up and used her almost forgot voice. "No way in hell am I staying in a room with those two unsupervised!"

"I will be there Kagome, don't worry." Said Professor Centipede

Kagome sat back down in her chair once again mad beyond belief. "Like I said, no supervision."

Sesshomaru and Miroku sat down in their chairs. They had no clue what was wrong with their damn teacher today. Her boyfriend must have broke up with her or something because she was pissed about everything. They had both already gotten in trouble about being late and were lectured about back talking to their superiors. Needless to say, Sesshomaru was extremely mad about her calling herself his superior.

"Sesshomaru, Miroku!" Their teacher pointed to their uncovered books. "Sorry." They said in unison already quite use to saying that by now.

"I don't believe you." She squinted her eyes. "Detention."

"W-what?"

"Yes, today after school, Ms. Centipede will be holding it in her room."

Needless to say, they were speechless. Them? Detention? They were to busy trying to figure out what was going on to notice the wink their teacher gave to a girl in the back of the class. If they had, they probably would have noticed Sango, wink back and pull out her cell to text her friends that Sesshomaru and Miroku were in.

Rin sat next to Ayame listening intently; trying to decipher what was going on.

"Please?"

Rin heard a murmur on the other side

"What do you mean is she hot? That's not what matters, it's the personality that counts."

Another murmur was heard.

"No, that does not mean she's ugly, or fat, or, would you just shut up and come?"

Ayame sighed, blocking out any noise Rin could have heard. Then she squealed in utter delight. "Thanks cuz, you totally rock, and your friends will be there too right? And don't worry, you'll recognize u I really ow you one."

Ayame then turned off her cell and looked at Rin. "I guess we're all set here. How about the others?"

Rin picked up her own cell phone to display the messages, reading complete.

"Perfect."


	5. First day of school

Firevixen73-Hey everyone, hope you liked it. Any questions just ask, I usually try to answer them within the following chapter, but if I can't I'll try and answer it, unless it gives away the story. Enjoy.

Inuyasha sat down in his chair, drumming his fingers impatiently. Kouga soon sat down next to him equally annoyed. Next came a loud banging noise followed by a pissed Sesshomaru that came busting through the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges. Followed by a gloomy looking Miroku. The two pairs looked at each other equally surprised.

"Book cover."

"Coke can."

"What the hell is wrong with teachers today?" Said a pissed Inuyasha.

"Quiet!" Yelled Professor Centipede. "Speak a word and another day will be added for each syllable. I don't care if the building is on fire. Not a word!"

Kagome soon came barging in, obviously still bitter about her interrupted date. She basically threw herself in her seat and quickly laid her head down on her desk.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow indicating his confusion.

Inuyasha looked at his stunned brother. "She basically told off Professor Centipede."

"Kagome? No way!"

Professor Centipede slammed her book down. "What? Did you think I was kidding about added detention? I swear…" Suddenly her cell phone rang, leading her completely off track. She picked it up and pressed the on button. "Hello? Ok, I'll be there momentarily." She quickly hung up and faced her five captives. "I'll be back. Don't try anything, no lenience what so ever." Their jailer quickly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as the door clicked Kagome rushed over to the window and unlocked it. She then looked out as if scanning for something. She then rushed back over to her seat and pulled of her oversized sweatshirt, revealing agreen halter-top.

The four onlookers were mesmerized, mouths hanging open, but she wasn't done yet. Her boots came flying off; she then pulled her baggy pants down to reveal a black miniskirt. Then out of nowhere Rin, Ayame and Sango came running through the door, each in similar outfits. Rin pulled out a pair of four inch heeled black boots, which Kagome quickly put on while Ayame pulled out a black jacket. Meanwhile Sango was occupied with Kagome's hair and make-up.

When they pulled away a complete beauty stood in front of them.

"Good thing we skipped last class. We wouldn't have had time to run back to get our clothes." Said Rin, making sure a few certain school gods were listening.

"Ya, not to mention today's detention teacher is a total flake, she'll never even notice that you're gone." Said Sango laughing.

"Ya, and don't worry about Hiten, I already called and told him to meet us here at school instead." Said Ayame, as well making sure that four certain boys were listening. Suddenly there was a rumbling noise and all eight high students ran over to the window.

Kagome smiled at the four bikers who had ran their motorcycles up the school stairs, sitting there patiently. She mentally thanked Ayame for having a hot rebel cousin who lived just across town. She looked at Inuyasha, who was still dumb struck.

"Bye." She waved. She then jumped out the window and landed on the fire escape, she then climbed onto the pole next to it and slid down. When her feet hit the ground she ran over to the lead biker and through herself over the back of the bike, quickly grabbing onto the drivers waist, preparing to race off. Her three friends soon joined, each choosing there own biker, then like lightning they rode off, leaving only the distant sound of the engines.

The four gods quietly walked over to their seats, each contemplating this newfound information then finally, Miroku broke the silence. "Damn, did you see them? It was like they were models or something."

"Forget their freakin bodies!" Yelled Sesshomaru. "Did you see who Rin rode off with? Some street thug!" he slammed his fist on the table.

Kouga looked at him curiously. "Why do you care who Rin dates? Your always talking about how much you hate her."

Sesshomaru just stared at the ground. In all honesty he had no clue why he just said that. The words, they just came flying out of his mouth, with no consult with is brain. "Oh, don't start Kouga. I saw the way you were looking at Ayame. It was like she was a piece of meat the way you were drooling." He said defensively.

Kouga all of a sudden got real weak in the knees at the mention of Ayame's name. Was, was that a butterfly he just felt? "Ya, well, at least my hand wasn't twitching like somebody I know." He said looking over at Miroku with an accusing stare.

"I…um…wasn't?" He said extremely unsure of himself. He was never good at lying, at least to these three.

At that moment all hell broke loose as Jest, Sport and Knowledge broke into argument, each trying to defend what dignity they had left, until they heard a mumble come from Inuyasha's side of the room.

"What?" Asked Miroku.

He grumbled again. "I said, where do you think they're going?"

The three stopped to ponder the question that neither really wanted to answer. They all quietly took back their positions in their seats, neither saying a word.

Ms. Centipede silently walked into the room, holding up a book in front of her face. She didn't need to look up; she had been listening from outside of the door after Ayame cad called and given her the cue to leave. All she needed to do now was spend the next two hours with her nose in a book, pretending to be to busy to notice Kagome gone. But, she just couldn't help it; she had to see their expressions. She sneaked a look from her "Motherhood in Hollywood" book to see them all with the same expressions on their faces. Disbelief, amazement, wonder and, was it true…? In their eyes glared both jealousy and hatred, which she could only guess was directed to the men that Sango, Kagome, Rin and Ayame were currently riding with. She tried her hardest to suppress a laugh and quickly placed her nose back in her book.

This is going to be a very interesting few weeks. She smiled and turned the page. I think I like this plan, she silently laughed, yes, I think I do. She thought to herself.

Kagome rode on the back of Hiten's motorcycle wishing she could have stayed to watch Inuyasha's face. She snickered, but knew that no one could see or hear her at the speed they were currently racing at. Hiten then pulled over and stopped. Kagome quickly got off and turned to face him, one question racing through her head, 'How the hell is his hair not a rats nest. Mines not because I tucked my hair in my hat, but his, it's like it wasn't even touched.'

"I know it's not special or anything but…" He was quickly cut off by Kagome's squeals. While he had been talking, she had noticed where they were. It was an old beat up Mexican restaurant.

"Are you kidding? Rin and I love this place! It's always the backwater places that are superior to everything else." She was practically skipping over to the door.

"You were on this side of town? Why?" He asked somewhat confused and amused at the same time. They both sat down at a large booth, waiting for the others so arrive.

"Oh, I was looking for this old Japanese restaurant that my dad used to take me to when I was little. It was my favorite. He took me there on my fifth birthday, but man, my mom wasn't too happy that he snuck me out of the house and left her with all our bickering relatives. But man I had a blast, they even took our picture."

"So, did you find it?"

"No, this city is pretty big."

"He scratched his head and smiled. "You know, it's kinda funny. When Ayame asked me to pick her and a few friends up, I was thinking that I gotta because it's family. I really wasn't expecting you to be remotely close to fun. Glad I was wrong. So, um, who were those four guys at the window?" He asked, almost not wanting an answer.

"Oh," She sipped the coke that the waitress had brought. "just a few beasts that need to be tamed."

"Need any help?" He said while cracking his knuckles, indicating his newly offered assistance.

She just smile and sipped her coke, trust me, she thought, your doing enough by just knowing my name. "Oh, before I forget, the girls and I were wondering if we could stop off at the drag race and test those choppers of your out. I mean, we can always use a bit of extra cash."

"Sure thing, we haven't been in a while anyway. He, want to hit a club on the way back?"

"Sure, I haven't been for ages. What about that new one, heard it's killer?"

"It is, and it just so happens I know a few of the bouncers working tonight."

She laughed and looked over at him. "Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

(Next day)

Kagome stood at her locker, books in hand, talking to Rin. She wore a red skirt that went down to her knees, and on her feet sat red pumps. She had a white tank top on that had a red rose in the center, followed by a rose choker with her hair gently framing her face. Rin wore baby blue corduroy's with a cream colored halter top that had a black outlining along with her own pair of black pumps.

Every guy just stood there, stunned, each thinking the same thing, quite possibly at the same time. 'Is that really Kagome and Rin? Why haven't I asked them out? What the hell is going on?'

In the very middle stood one fully entranced man. He finally couldn't take it anymore, his body soontook control, and he started to walk over to the two beauties in front of him. It didn't even cross his mind about what he was going to say, especially to her. He gently tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention. When she spun around his entire body froze, her hair had a few loose strands from her half ponytail that gently surrounded her face, and her smile, it was so captivating. Yet that wasn't what entranced him, it was her eye's, her deep chocolate brown eyes that he couldn't tear his gaze from, all the while wondering why she would ever want to cover those up?

"Um, Sesshomaru, are you ok?" Rin placed the back of her palm on his forehead to cheek and see if his temperature was normal. With this his cheeks rose to a blush illuminating a bright red tint to his normally stoic face. "You're a little warm, and your face is red, do you want to call the nurse?"

"No, I'm, um, ok." He said glad to have an excuse for the deepening red color in his face, as he gently pulled her hand away.

"Rin?" Said Kagome while pulling her fellow goddesses hair. "Hate to interrupt this tender moment and all, but we have to go. Sango and Ayame wanted us to meet them about five minutes ago."

"Right." Rin quickly pulled her hand out of Sesshomaru's and turned to face Kagome. "Now what's this about a tender moment?" She said threateningly.

Kagome made an inward smile, one word racing through her brain. Payback. She then threw her hands up as if surrendering. "Hell, I'm just repeating what Ayame was saying."

"What?" Screamed Rin in pure rage.

"Ya, she said by the way you two act around each other it's practically destined. She was even picking out names for your kids, I think it was three boys and two girls, or maybe it was the other way around."

That was it, Kagome knew she had won, she smiled again as she saw Rin storming down the hallway ready to tear Ayame limb from limb. Kagome just laughed. She probably would have felt guilty if Ayame wouldn't have told every guy in the club last night that she had a black bra on, and if you pour enough drinks down her shirt you could see it. Nope, no guilt what so ever.

Sango stood outside the girls locker room waiting for Ayame, they were suppose to meet Kagome and Rin ten minutes ago. She tapped her foot impatiently. This was the first time in, oh, only stalkers know how many years, they actually wore real clothes to school. Nothing wrong with the old ones, these were just more them.

But they all knew whatever plans they had made all those years ago were over with. That was the deal wasn't it? When they were in their own clothes they were the goddesses and should be treated as such, other wise, they were just normal students. To bad there's a deadline, on well, the gods would have figured it out eventually. She was mentally preparing for the day, she just knew girls would be coming up to her all day with questions or for advice. She here she was, her back up against the wall, wearing a purple V-neck with faded black jeans on.

Suddenly Rin came storming by, then noticing Sango came to a screeching halt. "Hey, you seen Ayame?"

"Maybe, why?" She answered calmly.

"Kag's said that she was picking out Sesshomaru and my kids names!" She said through clenched teeth.

Sango gave a slight laugh, she had been wondering what Kagome's payback was going to be. There was no way Kagome was going to let Ayame get away with that little green alcohol soaked halter top Kagome was currently trying to hide from her little brother. You know, it probably wouldn't have been so bad if that cop wouldn't have DUI'd her for smelling drunk. Probably in my best interest to not get in the middle of this, to bad I never do what's best, she thought wickedly to herself. "Hey Ayame, Rin wants you." She yelled into the locker room.

Ayame soon came out of the door and into the light from the window to reveal a brown skirt that was down to her ankles with a light blue tank top on. Then next thing she knew Rin was charging towards her, death beaming from her eyes. "What the hell did I do?" She asked Sango while dodging one of Rin's blows.

"No idea." Sango replied mischievously, while watching Ayame run for her life.

"Hell!" Sesshomaru suddenly came busting through the door. "Have you seen the girls today?"

Kouga, Inuyasha and Miroku all looked at him and simultaneously shook their heads. Then Sesshomaru remembered that Principal Kayede had asked Inuyasha to attend a meeting with her concerning the track meet tomorrow. The others had probably been dragged along.

"So," Inuyasha asked once again curious. "whats up?Do they look different or something?"

"They look like goddesses!"

"What?" Said Miroku in a high-pitched voice. "Wait?" He said in a now very low voice.

"That's right, I think they are the goddesses. It explains everything. You said the girls jumped to Kagome's defense, and have you noticed how every time we've tried to get them at lunch or during class, they are always somehow saved by a group of girls? It explains a lot."

"Naw, they were just lucky." Said Kouga reassuringly.

"Ya, I gotta agree with Kouga." Said Miroku.

"Ya, you probably just want an excuse to ask Rin out." Said Inuyasha while smirking.

That immediately tossed out any idea in Sesshomaru's head. There was no way he liked Rin, because he didn't, did he? No, of course not, she just caught him off guard today. So they weren't the goddesses, that's that.

Suddenly there was a loud scream echoing from down the hallway, only it wasn't as far as one might have guessed because three seconds later Ayame came panting into the room.

"Help me!" She screamed. Rin was suddenly behind her, ready for her kill. Ayame screamed again and jumped up on a desk to avoid another one of Rin's attacks. Rin just smiled, Ayame looked around wondering why and then noticed that she was trapped. So, when Rin lunged Ayame did the only thing that she could, she closed her eyes and jumped.

Firevixen73- Hope you like, I know I left it sort of at a cliff hanger but the chapter would have taken a while to write if I would have kept on going. I hope everyone likes it and I'll try to update soon. Please Review; it makes the writer feel all bubbly inside!


	6. First day of school part 2

Firevixen73-Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update. It's like teachers have joy in making sure you cant do anything for the rest of the night. And finals are coming up, those are killer. Well, here you go everyone!

Ayame opened her sky blue eyes to find herself looking into very familiar dark blue ones. Kouga was currently holding her about four feet from the ground, one arm around her waist while the other one was wrapped around her knees, making sure she didn't slip out of his grasp. Meanwhile, her arms were wrapped around his neck, pulling them even closer together. It reminded her of all those old fashion movies where the main characters get married and the new husband is caring away his new wife in his arms, only, the husband would be smiling, not have a completely shocked expression on his face.

She sat in his arms, registering what had happened, and trying to remember why she was in Kouga's lap. She remembered a raging Rin lunging for her and then… Oh my god! She jumped into Kouga's arms, willingly!

As Ayame was contemplating this, two snickering friends stood in the doorway, discussing their newfound plan. One of them nodded and then silently tip toed over to where Rin was standing, while the other pulled something out of her purse. As soon as the first dark figure reached Rin she pushed her into an unsuspecting Sesshomaru.

Click.

Flash.

Click.

Then the sound of laugher rang throughout the room, coming from the direction of the two shadows. Rin looked up to see Sesshomaru's face mere inches from her own, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist, in order to prevent her fall. She looked back up to see Kagome and Sango almost rolling on the floor from laughter.

"What the hell was that for?" She screamed.

Kagome wiped a tear from her eye. "I was just finishing my payback to Ayame about having every guy in the damn club last night basically pouring their drinks on me like a waterfall."

Ayame snickered. "Ya, probably didn't help that that cop pulled you over for smelling drunk."

"Ya, well, I hope you like Kouga as much as you seem to, "she said pointing to Ayame's position, "cause this is going on the front page of the school news paper!"

Ayame's mouth dropped in disbelief.

"Wait!" Said Rin pleadingly. "What did I do?"

Now it was Sango's turn to snicker. "Don't tell me you don't remember last night either? Remember when asked for your phone number you would give out mine instead."

"I was drunk!" She yelled in defense.

"And I was getting calls till freakin five in the morning… but that's ok, you're photogenic." Kagome and Sango left the room laughing their heads off, knowing which pair had won this round.

Inuyasha sat in his class dazed. Kagome, club? Drinks? Wet shirt? Cop? This was not computing. Yet at the same time it was. This fun, exuberant, wild and sassy Kagome was a lot like the girl he knew in elementary school. Sure, not so adult wild, but still, you could tell it wasn't a new thing. Not to mention, she looked great. Sesshomaru wasn't kidding when he said they looked good, especially Kag's. Wait? Did he just call her Kag's? That was the name he used to call her when they were friends. He hadn't called her that for a while. Hell, he barely called her by her real name, it was usually bitch or wench. Though now that he thought about it, he didn't know why.

"Inuyasha!" Yelled his professor in utter annoyance.

"Um, Ya?" He asked waking up from his daze.

"I don't appreciate people dozing off in my class."

"Oh, sorry."

The class froze, everyone, from the jocks to the nerds, even Inuyasha's professor didn't flinch. Not once, in all of Inuyasha's High School or junior high history had he ever said sorry, let alone mean it. Inuyasha didn't even notice the sudden silence. He didn't notice Miroku's shocked expression. He didn't even notice the girl with long black hair in the back seat with a red knee high skirt on, starring at him curiously, yet at the same time with approval beaming from her smile.

Miroku was heading towards his usual lunch spot, where the rest of the gods were probably waiting for him, when he had the sudden urge to turn around. When he did, he saw Sango walk out of the building, a small box of fries in one hand, her books in the other.

He quickly walked over to her and started to grin like a mad man. "So, you like fries?" He asked casually.

She seemed startled not by his sudden appearance but by what he said.

"What?" He asked confused.

"I was just wondering?" She then started to walk off in the direction she was heading earlier.

He quickly jogged up to her to try and finish the conversation he wanted to start. "About?" He pursued.

"A few things, for instance, why you're even talking to me or in case you forgot, were not exactly buddy buddy. Secondly, I thought you only talked to a girl to pick her up? Usually that's something lame like 'will you bear my child? My family has a curse and I need as many offspring as possible.' Not, 'so you like fries?'"

"And how would you know my pick up lines?"

"I hear about them enough."

"And how is that?" Now he was curious. How would Sango know his lines, did she have friends that she didn't talk about? Did some of the schoolgirls ask for advice about him?

Sango stopped walking and looked up at him mischievously. She then pressed her finger up against his lips and winked, she then moved closer to his face and whispered. "Can't tell, it's a secret." In all honesty she was surprised that Sesshomaru hadn't figured it out yet, maybe they gave Sesshomaru to much credit. She then pulled away and started walking again.

Miroku grinned; he liked the proximity they had just shared. "Where are you going?" He asked once again having to catch up to her.

"I have a wrestling meeting."

"Well, I'm guessing that you aren't going to let me carry you, so will you at least let me carry your books and walk you over there?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Sango gave a slight giggle. "Alright, but only if you do me a slight favor, every time Rin's around make sure to voice how cute of a couple her and Sesshomaru would make."

"Done."

They smiled and Sango passed her books over to Miroku, both heading towards the wrestling meeting.

Kouga sat in the middle of the track contemplating today's events. He had never realized how beautiful Ayame's eyes were. Wait? Did he just call her beautiful? Man the sun must really be getting to him if he's that delusional. He shook his head, trying to get the mental picture of her out of his head. The way her body fit in with his own.

"No Kouga, stop it." He whispered to himself. He then stood up and started to do his round around the track. Then a thought crossed his mind, one he wasn't sure if he wanted or not. Ayame had jumped towards _him_, not Inuyasha, Miroku or Sesshomaru, but him. Why him? She hated him way more than she hated any of the other gods, so why did she jump in his direction?

"You know, your suppose to stretch before you run hard." Came a female voice from behind him.

He turned around to see the same fiery vixen that had been plaguing his thoughts since this morning. He smirked. "I'm a track star, I know when to push my body and when not to."

"You gods are all the same, you know, somebody really needs to humble you four." She said while shaking her head.

"And let me guess, you think you're the one who's going to be doing it. Please, what makes you think you can beat me? I'm the god of sport and I was chosen for that position for a reason."

"Oh really, well how about a little wager then. I bet I can beat you in a half a mile race. Loser has to help out at the school cafeteria tomorrow. Deal?" She put out her hand to seal it with a shake, waiting for Kouga's reply.

He smirked, she was dead. "Deal." He then took her hand into his and shook it, sealing one of there fates. " We start as soon as the school bell rings, clear?" Ayame nodded, making sure that she knew the rules.

Ayame walked over to the start line, already wearing her sweat pants and running shoes. She got in her running position. Kouga walked over smirking. "What ever happened to stretching?"

She smiled. "Already done, you didn't actually think I would come over here unprepared did you. I'm not dumb, I know your good, only an idiot would say other wise."

The bell suddenly rang leaving Kouga to stare at a cloud of dust. He had been to shocked about Ayame giving him a complement to notice that the bell had rung until Ayame was already gone. He cursed to himself, not believing that he let Ayame get a head start like that. She was pretty far off, damn, she probably said that whole I'm good thing to through me off, and like and idiot fell for it. Damn, he cursed to himself again.

Ayame's figure soon came into view and he speed up to catch her. She was fast, he had to admit it, then he suddenly remembered junior high, I can't believe it, I forgot she was on the woman's track team. This is not my day! When he finally reached Ayame so they were neck in neck she looked over at him and smiled. Kouga was shocked once again, she had a pretty smile. Then he saw her mouth moving so he decided to listen.

"You used to much of your energy trying to catch up with me Kouga, you should have passed me up when you had the chance." Then like lightning she increased her speed leaving Kouga once again in the dust. He crossed the finish line to see Ayame standing there peacefully with a sly grin plastered on her face. He couldn't believe it, he had lost to a girl, not just any girl either, but Ayame! How the hell did this happen? And why wasn't she on a track team? And how the hell did this happen? She was a girl, guys just don't loose to girls in sports, they were stronger and more equipped when it came to this type of stuff.

"Looks like I won, though, I don't think I would have been able to if you would have stretched like I told you to. Your body would have been more prepared for the sprints you would have needed to do."

Damit, she was right. Without stretching she had the upper hand. Why did she have to be right, anyone else he could have taken like a man, but no, it had to be her?

She smiled as she saw his face drop, she knew she had gotten what she wanted by that simple expression. "It's ok, your hair wont get dirty, they have those gorgeous hair nets to make sure that doesn't happen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go inform the staff of your newly offered services." She then started skipping off towards the cafeteria.

Then it registered in Kouga's mind what she was doing. "Wait! Ayame, don't do this, come on, we can be friends!" He said pleadingly while running up to her.

Her smile grew even wickeder. "Umm, no. Besides if you want new friends I'm sure the lunch lady's would love to have your company for more than just one day. Maybe I should sign you up for a few weeks instead."

"NO!" He practically yelled. He knew that offering to be friends wouldn't change her mind, come on, they were mortal enemies, sure they were currently having a talk like old friends would, but, mortal enemy's none the less. Time to change tactics, bribery. "I'll do your homework for a week, two weeks, what if I get the rest of the gods to leave you alone for a whole hour?"

Ayame just smiled and shook her head. "No way in hell, this is way to much fun. The mighty Kouga begging. Wish I had a camera, this would be up on the wall of 'never to happen again so we made sure we could remember it'."

"You're not funny!" He said crossing his arms, not believing he had not only lost a race but now had to do accrual work, at school where people would see him no less, but, a bet is a bet. He then got an idea; maybe he could add a little twist to it. He contemplated his plan as they walked down the hallway.

Rin sat in the library reading her book. It was peaceful and quite, just the way she liked it. Only problem was the selfish dog sitting across from her. She knew he was watching her, she could feel it. She peaked around the corner of her book to see his eyes practically boring holes into her flesh. "What the hell is your problem?" She asked mad about being interrupted while reading, it there was one thing she couldn't stand it was that.

"Just wondering."

"About what? How bad you can piss me off." She asked now mad about loosing her place. She looked up to see a slight gin on his normally stoic face. That was new. Damit, he was finding this all to amusing wasn't he? Well Rosette sure wasn't. She was still tied up in that carriage. She looked back down at her book. Poor Rosette, she needed to finish this book to see what happens.

"No. That's not it."

She looked back up to see Sesshomaru once again looking at her like she was this humongous chess game. She put down her book and looked him in the eye. "Then what were you thinking about?" She asked him knowing he wasn't going to stop pestering her until she asked.

"I was just wondering what changed. You and all your friends start acting weird all of a sudden. For a while there you had me believing you were the goddesses, but…" He suddenly had a flash back of Kouga telling him he liked Rin. "I changed my mind. I mean, the goddesses would have to be the complete opposite of your four."

Rin smirked. She got it now. He already thought they were the goddesses but the others must have said something to make him change his mind. She couldn't help but wonder what it was they had said. Maybe she could have some fun with this.

"Us, the goddesses, no way, were not cool enough to be them. Seriously, they're smart and funny, supreme really can really brighten your day. I remember one time I was pissed because of what some guy said to me, it was you in cases you didn't catch that, when she told me that according to one of your ex-girlfriends you have a pink dress shirt and a matching boa. I laughed my ass off the rest of the day."

How the hell? He was going to kill Inuyasha, he must have told one of his ex's about them, and it was his friends stupid fault he had them anyways, they were the ones that bought the matching outfit in the first place! "There is a reasonable explanation for that…" he started but never had the chance to finish.

"Ya, you like the color pink! It's ok, woman like it when a man is in touch with his sensitive side, which, in having a pink boa, it must be pretty big. Must also dominate the supposed manly side, hope it's not to squished." She started bursting into laughter again.

Sesshomaru was going to kill his brother when he got home. Chase him down, tie him up and give him to Kikyo, which was the worst possible torture anyone could give, listening to her laugh, it was like nails on a chock board. "I told you I have a reasonable explanation for that. For my birthday last year Inuyasha and company hired belly dancer and she was selling some stuff so those idiots bought some and stuck them in my room. I couldn't get rid of them because what if someone saw me caring them outside!" He said practically growling.

"I don't give a damn, it's still funny. How about you wear it to school one day?"

"Hell no!" He practically jumped out of his seat.

"Fine, fine, just a suggestion, but really, if you wanted to get them back about it why don't you just bring it to school and right, 'Inuyasha's property' or something. Course, it might cause me to have an ulcer from laughing so hard, but I pretty sure it would be worth it."

Sesshomaru was shocked, he had never thought of that, and Rin had! She thought of something he didn't? But he was the god of knowledge. Wait? Did she say she knew who the goddesses were? Maybe he could get something out of her.

"So, you know the goddesses then?" He asked calmly.

"Um, ya, everyone does." She replied once again looking at her book.

"So, who are they?"

"Sorry, can't tell. Wait, no I take that back. It's my pleasure not to tell."

"Ok, well, why do they hide?"

"They don't hide, they are just the type of people why don't like to be flocked over. They like to know that they do what they do not for the benefits but because it's what they enjoy."

Sesshomaru contemplated her answer, he had never thought of that. "Well, do they ever talk about us? You know the gods?"

"I don't know, maybe." She answered while turning the page.

"If you don't answer me I'm going to tell you what happens at the end of that book." He threatened.

"You wouldn't?"

"I had to read it last year. Lets see, Rosette and Christopher decided to get married after he saves her from the carriage and…"

"Damn you Sesshomaru! Now why did you have to go and do that? Fine, they do talk about you yes, but that's to be expected, you are not only the gods but also the biggest players in town. It's probably not that easy to deal with all the girls that come crying to them about you. Seriously, you can't do everything that you four do and expect to be on their Christmas list."

"So is that why you hate me, because the goddesses don't like us? Cause if that the reason it's pretty stupid. If I was going to hate me it would be because of all the things I do to you."

She gave a slight giggle at his logic. "I don't hate you Sesshomaru. I just, don't get along with you. I don't like to use the word hate anyway. It's to definite, and one thing I've learned from life it's that nothing is definite, everything can change."

"You don't hate me?" He asked slightly taken back.

"No, stupid. I just want to see you drowning at the bottom of a lake or something."

"And the difference there would be?"

"That I was kidding! Seriously Sesshomaru, and you call yourself the god of knowledge? A two year old could have figured that out." She then started to walk away, not wanting to have Sesshomaru's true nature mess up this for once civilized conversation they were having. The out of nowhere Sesshomaru had grabbed her books from her hands and started to walk down the hall. She quickly caught up to him, confused out of her wit. "Um, Sesshomaru, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? You told me about the goddesses so I'm repaying the favor. You drove your car to school today right?"

"Um, ya, but…"

"Then hurry, I don't want to get caught in the after school rush out of the parking lot."

Rin almost stopped dead in her tracks. Sesshomaru was being decent, on purpose, to her. He was actually caring her books for her, this was completely new, he didn't do that for anyone, not even any of his past girlfriends. He must really want to know about the goddesses if he's willing to do this. She smiled to herself thinking only one thing. Damn she was glad Kagome thought up this plan.

Kagome walked along the sidewalk with a huge grin on her face. She had just dropped off the newly developed pictures of Ayame, Rin, Kouga and Sesshomaru. Man life was good. Oh, the rumors that would spread. She wasn't sure when Sango first mentioned the idea but after being reminded about everything that that Rin and Ayame had been unpunished for in the past, it defiantly weakened her resistance. But what finally did it was when Sango pointed out how much it would help the plan to solve the four gods issue.

Lightning suddenly flashed in front of her a few miles off. She knew she wouldn't make it home in time to beat the storm, so why even try.

She thought of Inuyasha's weird, 'sorry' comment earlier today. She was surprised to say the least. Surprised that after god knows how many years of having a tyrant on the loose, with for some reason, a radar to get her, he would turn back into the sweet protective guy she knew back in elementary school.

She felt a drop of rain on her head, soon to be followed by more. That's when she remembered why people rushed home, whether they would get caught or not, they wouldn't get soaked, and she was defiantly getting soaked. Then out of know where came a warm dry jacket that was draped around her shoulders. She looked up to see gold reflecting back at her. Inuyasha then pulled them both over to a tree, hoping the leaves could keep them at least semi dry.

"Inuyasha, why did you do that?" She asked innocently.

"Do what?"

"Give me your coat."

"You looked cold."

"Well ya, I was, but what about you?"

"I'll survive."

She snuggled deeper into the oversized jacket. "Thanks."

"Whatever."

"So what are you doing here anyways? Are you stalking me? I mean seriously, one time is enough."

"No! I'm not stalking you and for crying out loud, I was six and saw a pretty little girl, and decided I wanted to get to know her."

"You think I'm pretty?"

His cheeks turned a slight pick color, he quickly turned around to hide it. "I _thought_ you were pretty, my eyes were probably just having fun sending distorted images to my brain."

"But you still thought I was pretty. That's so sweet, and here I was thinking you were just some psychopathic boy with weird hobbies."

"Why you little…"

"Ha, got you to look at me!" She said triumphantly.

Inuyasha soon realized what she had done. This was Kagome; she knew if you wanted a response out of him all you had to do was hurl an insult at him. "Well, like I was saying. I live a few blocks from here remember? I turned the corner and there you were, shivering like a maniac." He looked back down at the ground. Inuyasha was fidgety, he couldn't stay still, he knew why. He wanted to know a few things that only Kagome could answer. "So, who was that guy?" There, he said it.

Kagome gave a slight smile. "A friend." She stated, making sure to not answer the question the way he wanted her to.

Ok, that didn't work, he thought, let's try this. "What's with the new threads?"

"New? No I got this last year."

He grumbled. "Where's your sweatshirt?"

"Closet."

"Why?"

"I'm not wearing it."

"Why."

"Didn't match."

He grumbled again. This was going anywhere and she knew it. She was avoiding his questions on purpose, but why. To annoy him or was there something more? "You are the most difficult person I know." He said while running his hand through his hair.

"Then you must not know many people." She looked back up at the sky, just watching the rainfall down.

Inuyasha started to remember his own memories about the rain, old and forgotten ones. Sango and Kagome would both jump and dance in the middle of a rainstorm while Inuyasha and Miroku would sit and talk about how crazy they were and how they were going to end up sick. Eventually the girls would manage to coax them into joining them. After a few hours they would all go home soaked.

A gentle hand crept into his own and he looked over to see its owner being a vibrant Kagome. Then, out of nowhere she gave a giant pull and both of them were standing in the middle of the storm-soaking wet. Only Inuyasha had been thrown into a large puddle while Kagome stood laughing over him.

"That was uncalled for." He smirked. "Almost as much as this." He then pulled her down into the very same puddle he was currently sitting in, making a giant splash, drenching him even more.

The two looked at each other's drenched clothes and hair and immediately started to laugh.

Inuyasha stood up and helped a still laughing Kagome to her feet. He missed her, her laugh, her smile, the way she never put up with his crap. Maybe, just maybe he could spend some more time with her. He could probably move his schedule around a bit.

"Well, I better be going. You know, Sota and all." She started to walk away and then turned back around. "Sorry, I almost left with this." She pulled the black coat off her back then turned towards the direction of her house, not once looking back.

Firevixen73- Hope everyone liked it. And I did that all in one day. I'm very proud of myself. Please review.


	7. Family Matters

Kagome finally reached her house, and surprisingly enough the rain didn't stop pouring when the key hit the lock. I mean, isn't that always what happens, as soon as you get home, the rain decides to stop? She took off her red pumps and placed them on the blue matt by the door, slightly relieving the pounding of her feet. Mental note, don't run in heals anytime soon, and build a ramp up here, those stairs are killer.

She quickly glanced around, looking for her younger brother, not being able to find him she did the next best thing, yell of course. "Sota, I'm home!"

A boy about twelve came running towards her from the second floor. He jumped onto the banister and slid down, right into his sister's arms. She, on instinct reached out and caught him in mid-air, barely keeping her footing. "You're getting a bit to big for that." She said while dropping him back onto the ground.

"I know, but I'm waiting for the day that you topple over." He said, a smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Well isn't that lovely, it's so nice to know I have such a caring and compassionate brother. So, how was school then?" She walked into the living room and threw herself onto the couch, immediately joined by Sota.

"Fine, some kid got caught cheating on a test though, you should have seen it, the teacher marched right over and pulled out a fat red marker and wrote 0/100 really big. Oh, and Kohaku and I put a lizard in Mr. Yuro's drink." He paused. "Ya, it was a pretty normal day."

"Well that's good, but it looks like baseball practice is canceled." She said while stealing a glance outside. "Why don't you call the team and tell them?"

"Sure thing, and don't forget you promised meatloaf tonight." He said while running out of the room. She just shook her head wondering how the hell he remembered that.

After dinner Kagome walked upstairs to her room and pulled out her Pre-Calculus book, why did that class never fail to give out homework? By the time she was on problem 36 she was ready to gouge her eyes out just so she wouldn't have to look at it. Thoroughly annoyed she picked up her book and tossed it over on her bed, knowing if she didn't take a break it was very likely she would burn the blasted thing.

"Alright, I'll see how Sota's doing." She crept over to her brother's room, two doors over, and peeked into his open door. She suppressed a laugh, wondering if that's how she looked about a minute ago. Kagome quickly walked away towards the stairs and down into the kitchen. She opened the freezer and pulled out a box of strawberry ice cream. She also pulled out two bowls and placed two spoons in them. Finally making it back upstairs she turned the corner to see Sota attempting to drill holes into the page with his eyes. She walked over and shoved the bowl under his face and gave a slight laugh when she saw how big his eyes got. Together they walked over to his bed and started eating.

"Thanks sis, I really needed this."

"I could tell." She replied while stuffing her face with another spoon full of ice cream.

"Hey sis, can I ask you a question?"

"Ahh, no!" She yelled.

"But why not?" He looked up to see his sister with an extremely pathetic look on her face.

"Oh sorry Sota, I spilled ice cream on my leg and it was really cold." She picked up a napkin and quickly wiped it up. "Now what did you say?"

He smiled, that was just like Kagome, without even meaning to she could lighten up the mood. "Well, I kinda wanted to ask, well, how to ask a girl out." A slight shade of pink appeared on his cheeks.

Kagome stopped everything she was doing, the almost melted spoonful of ice cream hanging inches away from her mouth. She put it down and stared at her brother. "You like someone?" She took a few more seconds to make sure that she had heard correctly, and then she bombarded him with questions. "Do I know her? What's she like? What's she look like? She cute? Maybe we should invite her ov-"

"Kag's! Come on I'm serious, I don't want to mess this up, I really like her."

"I'm serious too. It's my duty to look out for my baby brother, speaking of which, I can't wait to show her your baby pictures!" She squealed.

"Kagome!"

'I'm kidding, well at least about the last part." Her ice cream had already melted so she drank it, leaving the bowl empty. "Listen, if you really want this to last, and you really like her, be yourself. If she doesn't like that then she's not worth it. I know it's harsh but it's true, no one who you have to completely change yourself for is worth the heartache that will eventually come. Does that help at all?"

"Sort of, but how do I do the actual asking out part?"

"Um, I guess you could do something that would represent you or your personality. I guess if you want to get more romantic you could be a bit more creative. Like, you could get the rest of the baseball team to help you, maybe a sign or something I don't know, it kind of varies. Just express you, that way she knows what she's getting into. It may not be the most romantic thing ever, but it's honest, besides, you'll have plenty of time to make up for it on dates, which by the way, I will be chaperoning."

She got up from her seat and grabbed both empty bowls. "Now come on, let's wash these and finish that math homework."

Kagome stayed up till Sota's bedtime helping him with his homework and had amazingly enough just finished her own. She looked over at the clock to see it reading 12:37, hey, she might actually get some sleep tonight. She yawned and walked over to her bed when suddenly the phone rang. "Now who could that be?" She reached over and grabbed it, clicking it on. "Hello?"

"Kagome, there you are, so how's everything going?"

Kagome desperately wished she could hit something right now, something, anything, just to make up for her stupidity, why the hell didn't she check caller id? "Hello mother, everything's fine, how's Venice?"

"Splendid, everything is amazing here, the food, the people, the sights, I couldn't be happier. By the way, I'm not going to be coming home for a few more weeks. Caleb and I are going on this incredible cruz and then heading over to France, so, see ya."

"Wait! What do you mean another few weeks? We haven't seen you in four months and even that was brief, Sota's birthday is in three weeks mom, you can't miss that again! He's turning thirteen, that's suppose to be a big turning point in a kids life, he needs his mom there, no matter how much of a flake she is!"

"Do not take that tone with me young lady, I can do what I want. I am a grown woman, unlike you, who has a responsibility to her boyfriend, but I guess you don't know anything about responsibility now would you! You should just feel lucky that I take the time out of my busy day to call, it's not like I have to do that, _or_ wire you money to pay the bills!"

Kagome could feel her eyebrow twitch, not only was she getting lectured on responsibly by a woman who had never once shown it, but was also being threatened with eviction by her own mother.

"So, you forget to send it half the time anyways, just do us a favor and don't call, at least if we don't know about your fake promises you cant continue to break Sota's heart!" Kagome slammed the phone down ready to tear the nearest thing apart. She knew her mother wouldn't call again, hell, it probably didn't even register in her mothers mind that Kagome was furious and had purposely hung up.

"Kag's?"

Kagome turned around to see Sota standing in her doorway, her face dropped, had he heard?

"Was that mom again?"

"Ya, it was." She whispered, but loud enough for him to hear. For some reason her throat didn't want to seem to work, maybe it was because she really didn't want to say what she knew she was going to have to.

"What did she say? She's going to be here for my birthday right?" He asked anxiously.

Kagome could feel her eyes watering, not for her sake, but for her brothers. She had already been through this, she had grown up with it, after her dad died, her caring loving mother left. She turned into a selfish bitch that only considered herself. Luckily she had her grandfather for a couple of years, but he died when she was in fourth grade, once again leaving her alone, well, except for Inuyasha, she could still hear him swearing to always be there for her, well, obviously things changed. She didn't want Sota to grow up with that same pain, she knew she couldn't erase all of it, but a little is better then none. It absolutely killed her to say her next words. "No honey, she can't make it, but she's really sorry."

Kagome could see her brother desperately trying to hold back his tears and she quickly got up and walked over to her little brother and pulled him into a large, protective hug. "It's alright, why don't you stay with me tonight? Then we can get up and make pancakes together, alright?"

"Alright."

The two then huddled together in Kagome's oversized bed, Sota holding onto her tightly. Kagome pulled the covers up over Sota's face, trying desperately to protect him from the harsh realities of life.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Kagome sat next to the big school tree waiting for her friends to arrive. It was already lunch, and she was starving. Luckily she had brought her lunch today, which she really only did when she got up and made breakfast with Sota. They always made too much, mainly because Sota had a tendency of spilling half of the batter so she just naturally made extra.

Luckily Sota hadn't brought up the subject of their dim whit of a mother, she was worried that he might. Normally she wouldn't be but she was still fuming from last night's conversation and didn't know what she might have said to Sota if he had brought her up.

Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out a large packet of pancakes, there had to be at least 13 of them in there, good thing to, because she was hungry. She reached back in and pulled out a water bottle and an apple.

She looked over when she felt a figure sit down next to her, it was Sango who had also brought a lunch. She pulled out a sandwich and chips, along with a can of coke. Then she saw Sango's eye's wander down to the bag full of pancakes, which was the other reason she would bring so many, for some reason people liked her food, especially her three best friends. Sango looked at her pleadingly, Kagome rolled her eyes and reached into the bag, throwing her one. "Your pathetic."

"Yet I still got one." She said still smiling. "You ok?"

Kagome ran the tips of her fingers through her hair. "Ya, I just, didn't have the best of night's last night, that's all."

"Your mom called didn't she?"

Kagome looked down at the ground. "Ya, she did."

"Are you sure your going to be ok Kag's, you just, seem more down then normal, well compared to when she usually calls anyway."

"It's just," She sighed. "She's not going to be here for Sota's birthday."

"What! No, she can't, this is a really important year, she can't miss it!"

"Well, according to her she is and can. I really don't know what to do anymore Sango. She's ripping up Sota's heart day by day. Maybe if he had some type of father figure, it would be better you know, but he doesn't. I seriously doubt grandpa or dad are going to manage it back from the dead and Caleb, not even going to attempt that notion. I'm out of idea's, raising yourself is one thing, raising another person is totally different. I don't want him to go through the pain I went through."

"Kag's, maybe you should call up your dad's family, maybe they could do something?"

"Why would they talk to us? Dad left them remember, both sides wanting nothing to do with the other, why would they want to help his kids? No, I can't do that, I'm just going to have to continue playing the mother, father and sister all in one. Oh, hey, did I tell you Sota likes a girl?"

"What? No way, aw, he's growing up so fast. I swear it's like Sota and Kohaku were just screaming baby's pulling on our hair. Though, you gotta admit, the fact that their best friends is kind of weird."

"Na, it's because we spent so much time together, they decided the only way they would get a chance so soak us with water balloons was if they worked together, it's only natural they became close." Both of them broke into fits of laughter, each remembering when the two had attempted to pelt them with water balloons only to have Sango and Kagome soaking them with the hose, yes, that was a glorious moment.

They eventually looked back up, a glint in their eyes till Sango noticed something. She elbowed Kagome so she turned around only to see a furious Rin marching towards them. She huffed and threw her backpack down on the ground, sitting extremely close to it. She whipped out an orange and was throwing the outside pieces in random spots, every now and then stopping for a few seconds and growling only to continue to mutilate the poor orange even more so.

"Um Rin, you ok?" Asked Kagome, but was starting to wish that she hadn't. Rin looked like she was going to hurl the maimed orange at her for just daring to ask.

"Alright? Alright? Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be alright? It's not like every time I pass by Miroku he starts going on about how cute a couple Sesshomaru and I would make, and how adorable our kids would be. It's not like he made up a song about it or anything. It's not like I'm going to rip him into tiny little pieces for even suggesting such a thing!"

Out of the corner of her eye Kagome saw Sango spit the coke out of her mouth. Looks like Sango has something to do with Miroku's new hobby. I'll have to ask her about it later, I wonder if I should tell Rin, has Sango done anything to me lately? Not that I can think of, ok, I'll let this one slide. "Ok Rin, why don't we just give Miroku a break, we all know he's joking, how the hell could we know if your kids would be cute unless we used one of those machines that merges baby pictures to see what kids would look like? So why don't we just go get some of yours and Sesshomaru's pictures and find out ok?" Kagome was using every once of will power not to laugh.

"Ya, ok, your right, we'll just… no wait, WHAT THE HELL? That wasn't funny Kag's!" She chucked her once upon a time orange at Kagome who dodged just in time. She turned around to see it smashed against the tree.

"Yes- it- was!" Laughed Sango, she was currently leaning into her lap, her face turning red from laughing so hard. "I can just picture it, it would be like the family from hell. Mom and dad would always be trying to kill each other, brother and sister would sit and take bets on who was going to be sent to the mental house first." She toppled over from laughing so hard.

Rin jumped up and was suddenly on top of Sango attempting to strangle her. Kagome, seeing that she might have to attend a funeral in the near future if this continued, decided to intervene. "He Sesshomaru, hey Miroku."

The two immediate shot up and sat down as if nothing had happened. Rin started brushing her fingers threw her hair while Sango was brushing dirt off her clothes. They both looked up around the same time, fully prepared to explain why they were rolling around in the dirt during lunch, to said people, only to see that they weren't there. "Hey, where'd they go?" Asked Sango.

"Who?" Asked Kagome.

"Sesshomaru and Miroku." Answered Rin.

"What gave you the idea that they were here?" Replied Kagome.

"But you just said hi to them?" Argued Sango.

"No I didn't? But even if I did, why would you two suddenly stop tackling each other?" Said Kagome slyly.

"So, anyone seen Ayame lately?" Asked Rin.

Sly one Rin, sly, I'll let it pass, for now. Kagome looked over at both girls, "No, I haven't, usually she's out here as soon as me."

"Think maybe she's still in the cafeteria?" Asked Sango.

"No harm in trying, we've already been here for 15 minutes, she should have been here 10 minutes ago." They all got up and started to walk over, leaving their things behind, knowing no one would dare touch them.

Well, all accept Kagome who grabbed the remaining pancakes. Before reaching the door she felt a pair of eyes on her, she looked over to see Rin staring at her hand, well, more like what was in her hand. "Your just as pathetic as she is." She said while pointing to Sango.

"Please!"

She picked one out and threw it over to her, that leaves what, five more for me? They walked in, noticing how a path was slowly cleared for them, one of the many perks. "I don't see her anywhere."

That was until she heard a loud. "Kouga! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do!" There was no mistake there, that was defiantly Ayame's voice. The three quickly walked over to where all the commotion was to see Ayame and Kouga, standing next to each other behind the counter. Wait, behind the counter? What the hell were they doing behind the counter? That's where the cafeteria people were supposed to be, not students.

"Um, Ayame?"

Ayame turned around to see her three friends starring at her expectantly. She currently had mashed potatoes and gravy drenched over her once spotless clothes, compliments of Kouga, and chocolate cake in her hair, once again, complements of Kouga. "This stupid jerk volunteered me!" She thrusted her hand in Kouga's direction, completely forgetting about the spatula covered in potatoes in her hand. It went flying strait towards Kouga and landed on his face, though he seemed unfazed.

"Only because you did the same thing." He said smirking the whole way through.

"Only because we made a deal. You loose the race and you volunteer, I loose, I volunteer, and it just so happens you lost!"

"Ya but no where in there does it say you can't join me." If at all possible an even larger smirk was plastered oh his face.

"You-you, there isn't even a word for you!" She yelled.

"What can I say, I'm a pour loser. Now, about these mashed potatoes." He reached over and picked up the tray of lettuce, a devilish look in his eyes.

"Kouga, don't you dare, you knew that was an accident." She yelled.

"Ya, well, I kind of don't care." He reached over her and poured the tray on her. She opened her eyes to see that little pieces of carrots, lettuce, cucumber and radishes were sticking to various parts of her body thanks to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

That did it; she reached over for the remainder of the mashed potatoes and hurled it at him, about the same time he was picking up pieces of cake. Unfortunately for him, he stood up about a second to soon cause the mashed potatoes made a direct hit with his face, leaving him throwing blind. The cake that was once in his hand went flying over to a huddled group of senior girls, who well lets just say, in seeing Ayame throwing food, took it as a cue that they could.

Kagome soon found herself ducking under a table, trying avoid the various foods being thrown around. She suddenly felt something hard against her back only to look into the eyes of Inuyasha. Under the small table, they came to a silent truce. Kagome peeked around her side to see ice cream being thrown in her direction. "Down!" She yelled.

Inuyasha ducked, it just barely missing him, but as soon as she attempted to sit back up he pulled her back down, saving her from a flying hamburger. Suddenly they were joined buy three more bodies. Kagome looked up to see Rin, Sesshomaru and Miroku sitting with them. "Isn't this supposed to happen in elementary school?" She asked.

"Come on, put Ayame and Kouga in the same room together, let alone having to work together, and that's like putting me with Sesshomaru, or Sango with Miroku, or you with Inuyasha, something is bound to go wrong. That's just how it works."

"So anyone seen Sango, or maybe the one of the destructive duo?"

"Last I saw Sango she was crouching behind the water fountain. What about you three?" She turned to face the men sitting next to her.

"Behind you trying to dodge any oncoming food." Said Sesshomaru.

Rin turned around to see Sango diving over to their direction, landing in Miroku's lap. "Sorry guys, I tried to talk to Ayame but there is no way she was going to leave without putting Kouga in a coma first." She suddenly felt something brush up against her backside; with that slight move she realized where she was. "Ahh, Miroku you letch." She quickly jumped off of him and towards Kagome and Rin.

"Hey, you're the one who went diving into me." She stated.

"Ya Sango, maybe it was a subconscious thing. Maybe you two should go on a date some time." Said a giggling Rin.

Sang swung her head over to Sesshomaru's direction. "Hey Sesshomaru, you have any extra baby pictures lying around?"

"Uh oh." Whispered Kagome.

Suddenly Rin was once again lunging at Sango, luckily Kagome was ready. "Ladies, do not make me tell any on listeners what happened July 7 2003 cause I swear I will scream it from the top of my lungs here and now!"

The two immediately stopped and looked at Kagome trying to decipher if she was serious or not.

"Alright, we need a plan of escape." Said Sango while dodging a smashed up banana. "Now, if we maneuver past the lunch square we should be able to make it to the un-tipped tables. Then we can crawl through them but after that it's a free for all. A few dodges are going to have to be made here and there but over all it's our best bet."

"What if someone doesn't make it, what do we do then?" Asked Rin.

"We should group up, in three's probably, considering there's only two directions to go."

"Alright, Inuyasha, Rin and Sango you go left. Miroku, Sesshomaru and I will go right, ok?"

The two girls looked at their leader. "Agreed."

Kagome looked at the three men sitting next to her expectantly, but their faces were completely blank. "Since when do you three act like that?"

"Like what?"

"All in charge."

Sango looked furious. "Since men decided to take a step down."

"Excuse me?" Asked Inuyasha.

"Look, you got a better plan?" Asked Rin.

"Well, no."

"Then shut up and move!" Kagome grabbed Miroku and Sesshomaru just as their table was turned over, leaving them completely uncovered. They each took their places and ran, finally making it to the tables. Kagome dodged underneath and crawled towards the end of a set of tables, soon joined by Sesshomaru and Miroku, each panting.

Miroku looked at her. "One question, what the hell happened July 7, 2003?"

Kagome smiled. "Everything that concerns three out of four of you."

"What's that mean?"

"That means I can't tell you."

"But it has something to do with us?"

"Just kind of a lot."

"But your not going to tell us?"

"Correct." Apple juice went flying past their heads. "Maybe we should leave now." Kagome quickly stood up and make a break for the door, closely behind her were two extremely curious gods. When they reached the door the swung it open and ran out as fast at they could. They walked over to the park bench next to the door and sat down. Suddenly the door swung open again to reveal Sango, Ayame and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked over at the two. "So now will you tell me what happened July 7, 2003?"

"No!" They both screamed.

Suddenly the door opened and out stepped none other then a pair of completely caked in food, Ayame and Kouga. "Wow, it's messy in there." Motioned Kouga while Ayame nodded in agreement.

Their six friends looked at them in disbelief, they were the ones that caused it! Miroku looked over at Ayame and walked over to her. "So will you tell us what happened July 7 2003?"

Her face suddenly went pale, all color was drained, though, the four noticed that she stole a quick glance at Kouga. Suddenly a scowl was plastered on her face. "Kouga, why the hell are you such a jerk?" She then hit him over the head and walked over to her friends. "And how the hell do they know about that?"

"Hey, it was either that or we would be giving two eulogies at the end of the week for our recently departed friends that killed each other." Answered Kagome.

"Kind of leaning to the later on right now." She grumbled.

"Ok, how about we get you cleaned up and away from Kouga." Kagome looked over at her friend for an answer.

"Ya, he needs to be able to run for the track meet in two weeks." Said Rin in agreement.

"Don't think that would be very likely if he has two broken lags." Added Sango.

"Fine, but only because he's in track, when the seasons over…" She made a slitting motion on her throat, indicating her anger.

"When the seasons over he'll be in football." Answered Sango.

"Come on, cant the world give me a break. I'm a good person, what'd I do wrong?" She said throwing her hands up and walking away towards the girl's locker room. Her three friends shook their heads and followed her.

Suddenly Kagome turned around and scanned the area. "Damn, I lost my bag of pancakes." She turned back around and went into a slight jog to catch up with her friends.

Kouga walked over to his friends, a piece of cake sliding off his head. "So what's this about July 7, 2003?"

"Not sure." Answered Sesshomaru.

"No clue." Answered Inuyasha.

"Not sure I want to know?" Answered Miroku.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Firevien73- Does anyone remember the name of the girl that Sota asked out in the show? It would be a big help, cause I was thinking about putting her in it a bit more but I just can't remember her name. Thanx if you do. R&R please!


	8. The puppy that followed me home

Firevixen73- Thank you InuyashaHanyouJajuam and Dixy-Angel for helping me out with the girls name, and everyone else too, cause I want to try and include her more so in the story. Those are the only names I can currently remember, but I know there was more who helped. Me and my memory, it's really bad in case you didn't catch on, but just so I don't forget anyone, thank you! All right, here you go.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rin, Ayame, Sango and Kagome spent the rest of the week laughing about the previous lunch, when you looked back it was hilarious, Ayame had even kept the hairnet as a memento. Rin, Ayame and Sango had also talked to Kagome about their recent meetings with their respective gods and Kagome was extremely thankful that Rin was able to explain to her why Sesshomaru hadn't figured them out yet. Eventually they decided to take a break from their posts and let things between the gods settle out. That was until Friday afternoon.

Kagome looked over at the silver haired man with dog-ears sitting on top of his head, concentrating on the road. She turned back around and looked out her passenger window, why her?

(Friday at Lunch)&&&&&&&&&

Kagome quickly walked over to her self-designated lunch spot, the willow tree. She and her friends almost always sat under it, they didn't know why, but they did. Today they had actually been planning on going off campus for lunch, but their minds immediately changed when they realized how many other people already were. Translation, crowded everywhere else, un-crowded here.

Kagome was the first one there, no surprise really, so she quickly grabbed her things and climbed up to her favorite spot, which left her a few yards above ground and completely invisible, unless you knew where to look. A few minutes later and everyone was there, Rin and Sango on the ground while Ayame sat a little less then a foot below Kagome. They sat there, busy talking about Sota and Kohaku's game that evening, and how they couldn't wait to see them play. After all, their team had a great coach, Kagome.

And Kagome was excited too. The team had been training really hard and the team they were playing against tonight was one of the best.

It was about that time that the world decided to intervene. Sesshomaru suddenly walked over and sat down, staring intently at the two on the ground. He just sat there, not blinking once. Rin was about to comment on his weirder then normal behavior when Miroku, Kouga and Inuyasha joined. Kagome decided that maybe someone should say something but was cut off by Kouga.

"So where's Ayame and Kagome?"

Kagome immediately shut her mouth, realizing the four hadn't noticed the two in the tree. She looked over to Ayame to see her pick up an apple, preparing to hurl it at Kouga for being such a dunce when Kagome jumped down and caught her hand in mid air. Shaking her head she motioned to Ayame to be quite and listen to what they wanted. Kagome looked back down to see Rin stealing quick glances in her direction, obviously not knowing what to say. Kagome nodded for her to play along and prayed that Rin got the message. Luckily, she did.

Rin turned back around and faced the four staring at her intently, and smiled mischievously. "Hanging around, you know those two, always busy little squirrels, but, since _we're _here, what do you want?"

Inuyasha leaned forward and looked at the two. "You are going to tell us everything you know about the goddesses, that's a direct order form the gods."

"Um…no." Sango looked over, grinning like a mad woman.

"You can't violate a direct order from one of the gods, especially the supreme. Now talk."

By now a crowd of students had gathered around them, but the two women just looked at each other and nodded. "Yes we can, if it's in direct violation of another order given by one of the goddesses, especially the supreme, which by the way, it is. We have strict orders not to disclose any information concerning their identities."

"Fine," growled Sesshomaru, "then what do they do? That has to do with work, not identities."

Rin had to acknowledge that. "They are basically student council presidents for the entire student body. They handle all dances, sports events, assemblies and common everyday problems of girls in the school…I hope that's enough to satisfy your want. Can you leave now, we were having a conversation?"

Inuyasha gave a slight growl, he knew they knew something and so far they were the only ones to give out any type of information. He had tried everyone else, they wouldn't budge. He also had a hunch that Kagome knew something and if he had to follow her around all day to get her to talk he would. Now if only he could find her.

"Fine don't talk, tell me where Kagome is and we'll leave." He said extremely irritated.

"We already told you we're not positive." Replied Sango "I mean do you actually expect us to know the very spot?" Oh, I know 27 paces past the drinking fountain on the third step." She said sarcastically. "Besides last I heard, her and Ayame were with the goddesses discussing what they were going to do about you four. Unlike you, the goddesses try to include everyone in on their decisions unlike you, that includes nobodies like Kagome and Ayame."

The four gods and remaining boys who had gathered around them were too busy contemplating that Kagome and Ayame were with the goddesses to notice the snickering girls around them. Each and every girl who had heard that comment knew it was true, yet also a hoax. Of course they were with the goddesses, they were the goddesses!

Kagome smiled, Sango was great at war and war tactics, she undoubtedly saw this whole intervention as a battlefield. Rin gave a quick glance up not knowing what to do, Kagome winked, indicating further pursuit, time to put a fire under their asses.

Rin smiled, knowing exactly what Kagome wanted her to say it was absolutely brilliant! She looked over at Inuyasha, that furious yet bewildered look still plastered on his face. He looked over at the two women sitting in front of him. "So they're planning on doing something to us? Like what?"

Bingo! Just what she wanted to hear. "Not sure, but from what I could gather, from what little they told Kagome and what little she told me, they're considering placing a 'display case' on you four."

A loud gasp was uttered by every girl within hearing range, which by now was a lot. It was as if the world had stopped, teachers froze in mid-conversation, trays of food dropped on the ground, going unnoticed. Not one girl moved. They were all too shocked to believe what they had just heard. A display case! Sure it was drastic, but then again they had done all that complaining, it would solve everything, but it was real harsh, it hadn't been used over twenty-five years.

Inuyasha briefly looked around the campus to see every woman in sight frozen on the spot. Whatever this display case was it couldn't be a good thing.

Sango looked also looked around, she too understood what Kagome had meant and she agreed, all is fair in love and war.

Miroku looked aver at Sango, she didn't really seem surprised, had the goddesses already talked to her? Looking around he decided to ask the dreaded question that was on every mans mind. "So what exactly is a display case?"

Sango looked over at him. "It's basically a block, no women who goes to this school, has gone to this school, or will go to this school, is allowed to date you. They can look all they want, but no touching. No dates. No fooling around. And if they feel even the slightest urge to flirt, or communicate in any other way besides friendship, they MUST leave your presence immediately. It's only been used one other time, just goes to show how much of a bother you four are."

"So why aren't you two surprised?" asked Kouga

"Because of the little fact that you have been terrorizing us for, I don't know, most of our adult lives! They ask us questions about you four all the time. They know that out of everyone in this school, we know your personalities best. What ticks you off, what keeps you calm, so who better to make the decisions about you four than the ones who know you? In fact, they're probably busy contemplating what Kag's and Ayame have told them about you. Wondering if the display case will work or not." Said Rin while smiling mischievously.

"Well that only if they've already talked to them, I mean Kagome did say they would contact her today, who knows if they already have or not? Maybe she and Ayame are just in line somewhere, or in the bathroom debating on whether they passed a test or not." Sango said nonchalantly while looking at her nails.

Like lightning the four gods where on their feet racing towards the cafeteria doors praying that Kagome hadn't talked to them yet. Damn the stuff she could tell them. This was not good, they couldn't survive without their many girlfriends, that was like ordering them not to breath, and if the Mount Olympus high school body was loyal enough not to utter a word about the goddesses, then there was no doubt they could manage to keep away for a few days. Damn, they really needed to find Kagome.

-(Back in the car)-

So here she was sitting in Inuyasha's car, driving as if they were in some speed race down a 30-mile hour road. Though she did have to admit the look on his face was worth it. As soon as the crowd left, her and Ayame jumped down from the tree almost rolling from laughter.

The gods spent the better half of the day looking for Kagome and Ayame. They even ordered the rest of the male student body to look, that's why they asked Principal Kayede if they could stay in her room for a while. It was great, from what they heard Miroku had been thrown out of the girls bathroom twice, Kouga out of the girls locker room, Sesshomaru out of the library and Inuyasha managed to lock himself in the janitor's closet. To make it better the yearbook staff managed to get pictures, definitely a good day.

That was until they found what little brains they had. Sesshomaru had finely pointed out that all four of them were somehow close with the goddesses and that it would be best if they followed them around all day.

So here she was still staring out Inuyasha's car window. He had practically stalked her for the rest of the day. He was never more than a few feet away. Anytime another person would approach her he would glare at them menacingly, leaving her annoyed, bitter and very lonely throughout they day, 'cause she sure as hell wasn't going to talk to him. That got old before it was new, she couldn't talk to anyone, not to mention she needed to get to the baseball field. At first she had tried walking there, knowing it wasn't far, but that got old fast, maybe it wouldn't have if Inuyasha hadn't been next to her. Going about 2 miles an hour, telling her she should just get in.

Kagome looked up to see the turn for the baseball field approaching. "Inuyasha?"

"I'm driving wench, don't bug me."

"Inuyasha?"

"Driving!"

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"Turn!"

"What?" It suddenly dawned on him what she meant and he hit the brakes and turned the wheel, leaving black marks on the once streak less pavement.

"Do you think you can, you know, not do that again?" she asked still clutching her chair as a lifeline.

"Shut up, you were the one who was supposed to tell me when to turn, what you just can't do your job? See that's why women shouldn't drive."

"Inuyasha don't give me an excuse to kill you."

"Like you could."

"You really want to give the chance to test that little theory of yours?"

He looked up to see that she was dead serious and gave a slight gulp, due of her dark expression. "Well looks like we're here." He quickly jumped out of his car, desperately hoping she was just a good actress.

Kagome sighed and reached into the back for her bag, she opened the door and started to walk over to the bathroom only to bump into something hard. She stumbled a few paces back and rubbed her nose, she eventually looked up to see Inuyasha standing in front of her, arm's crossed, a smirk on his face. "What the hell was the about, do you not know how to move?" She tried to step around him, but was blocked once again. "Inuyasha?" she tried to suppress a growl.

"No, now how do I know you're not actually going in there to meet someone?"

Kagome's right eyebrow twitched. She threw her bag over her shoulder and thrust her arms out in front of her immediately contacting with Inuyasha's chest. Kagome pushed and continued to push. Inuyasha stumbled a few steps backwards, until he realized she wasn't going to stop. When she finally did his back was up against something hard, he turned slightly to see the girls bathroom sign. "What?" he asked totally confused.

"Go check it, you want to make sure, well there you go." She crossed her arms not once loosing her defiant look.

There was just something about it, something that made him catch his breath. Every time she would act like this it would leave him with chills running through his body, like pure exhilaration. "So you want me to come in and watch you change? Well why didn't you just say so?" he said while smirking.

Kagome looked like she was going to lunge at him that very moment, but instead she threw her hands up and pushed open the door. Halfway through she turned around and looked at him. "You are so, damn it, and I thought Miroku was bad!" But her efforts were wasted at the moment Inuyasha saw a faint blush lingering slightly on her cheeks. The door shut, leaving Inuyasha staring at its dark green coloring wondering if he had just imagined what he saw.

Inuyasha continued to lean against the door, silently watching people enter the small local stadium, he sighed wondering what was taking Kagome so long. Finally looking up to see a letch, a cocky possessive jerk and his arrogant brother walking towards him, each one trailing their designated target. Sango looked like she was going to kill, while Miroku looked like she had attempted a few times. The three girls walked up, each radiating pure hatred and looked at him as if he was the devil himself.

"Where is Kagome?" asked Rin looking as if she was going to slaughter him right then and there. He motioned towards the bathroom.

"Move," said Sango, her eyebrow twitching. She suddenly turned around and slapped Miroku, leaving him unconscious on the ground. They all looked over to see his hand twitching as if he was grabbing something. "he can't go freakin' five minutes!" she stomped over to Inuyasha, her eyes telling him to beat it.

Kouga immediately stepped in front of her blocking any usable path. "No, how do we know you're not going to converse with the enemy? Women do strange things when they're alone and they think no one's watching."

Ayame cut in front on Sango, hands clenched into fists. "You know I've been waiting all day to do this." Suddenly Kouga found himself on the ground with a bloody nose. He looked up to see Ayame standing over him, a triumphant look on her face, fist extended into the air. "Anybody else feel like going to the hospital?" The remaining gods simultaneously stepped aside and out of her way, leaving a clear path to the door.

"I swear, if you even attempt to follow us in, that pretty silver hair of yours is going to be stained red, and trust me, it's not going to be my blood!" Rin yelled threateningly at Sesshomaru, she walked over and pushed the dark green door open, Ayame quickly behind her.

Sango looked over at the now conscious Miroku. "Don't even think about it, cause I swear…" She turned around and pushed open the door, leaving Miroku with a million thoughts on what she could do to him.

"Well, I don't know about you three but I'm going to go grab a seat." Sesshomaru turned around and headed over to the bleachers finding a now vacant spot in the front. Another perk to being one of the gods.

"I'm going to get a hot dog." Kouga walked over to the vender and ordered, and eventually sat next to Sesshomaru, making the old couple sitting next him move.

"Well, I'm tired and could use a good back rub, Sango's hits aren't as soft as she leads you to believe, and those girls over there look friendly enough." Miroku pranced away toward the group of freshman girls sitting on the top bleacher.

Inuyasha looked over at the girl's bathroom door, it's green color almost mocking him. "I'm going to ask Kagome's baseball team a few questions. I doubt their going to be meeting anyone in there, besides, I can always run over if anything looks out of the ordinary." He said quietly. He quickly walked over to the group of boys on the right side of the field, dressed in red, currently warming up.

-(In the girls bathroom)-

"Of all the insensitive, dimwitted, one-minded asses, who the hell do they think they are, following us around all day? And Sesshomaru, what the hell is his fucking problem? Oh no, don't even get me started on him!" yelled Rin furiously at her four friends.

"I wasn't going-" Said Sango sympathetically but was cut off

"He's such a stuck up, arrogant, good for nothing jerk! Just because he doesn't have a life doesn't mean he can interrupt mine! I mean seriously, that oaf probably got me thrown out of the chess club! And the book club, don't even get me started!"

"I didn't and don't plan-" but Sango was cut off once again by Rin's ranting.

"He stole the damn list off the table, you know, the one that has the names off all the books on it, well he stole it, like I said, and started to talk about how bad each one of them was. 'Well this guy dies' or, 'never read it but the titles sounds boring' what a conceited…"

Rin continued to rant about her day, but by now her friends had learned that it was no use, the only way to get her to shut-up now would be to bring Sesshomaru himself in, and that was highly unlikely. Mostly because you can only have so much torture in one day, second, the only way you would catch Sesshomaru in a girl's bathroom who be if he was making out with someone in a stall.

"So, she calls the chess club and the book club a life?" asked Ayame.

"Agreed, maybe it's better that Sesshomaru messed this one up, that way we can get her a better one." argued Sango.

"Sango! Ayame! You two of all people can't talk, miss 'I practice throwing a giant boomerang made out of demon bones during my free time'." Kagome said accusingly at Sango, then turned to Ayame. "Or miss I'm going to learn how to communicate with wolves! Compared to you two, she's normal!"

"Hey, boomerang throwing is an ancient way off killing demons. It's been passed down from generation, besides, it's kinda fun." Sango said that last part in an almost whisper.

"Ya, and well, I was really close to figuring out their language, I just couldn't get the right pitches in my voice."

"You two are completely hopeless."

"We really need to get her to stop." Ayame pointed to Rin, who was still ranting.

"Don't worry, I got that covered." Kagome looked up mischievously. "So Rin, that doors not very thick, actually, it's pretty thin."

Rin looked over at her friends. "Ya, so?"

"Well, I wasn't sure at first, but now that I think about it, my ears couldn't have made it up, or maybe they did."

"Made what up?"

"Well, I could have sworn I heard you say Sesshomaru's hair was pretty."

Rin froze as realization hit her. Oh my god, she did! She could here herself repeating those dreaded words. _"I swear, if you even attempt to follow us in, that pretty silver hair of yours is going to be stained red, and trust me, it's not going to be my blood!"_ She called Sesshomaru's hair pretty! Even if it was in the form of a threat she still said it!

"Wow Kag's never would have thought of that. I heard it and all, but it didn't even register what she had said." Sango looked puzzled. "I wonder if Sesshomaru's figured it out yet?"

Rin almost had a heart attack with Sango's question. Almost, not quite, but Kagome's next statement sure did her in.

"Ya," Kagome smiled wickedly, "Not sure why, but it's reminding me of July 7 2003."

With that, Rin fell to the ground, knees hitting together. "My life is over, completely over. I'll have to move, start a new life, if he figures this out, I'll never live it down." She mumbled.

"Oh relax, he won't figure it out, well, not unless someone points it out to him. He is a guy after all, though sometimes you gotta wonder." Kagome walked over to Rin and patted her on the back. "And currently no one in this room as any score to settle with you. I know Sango and I already got you back with the pictures, which I'm happy to say are now in the school yearbook!" Rin looked at her menacingly. "He, he, he, well, that's it for us, hopefully you haven't done anything to Ayame lately."

"Your right, only the people in here caught on to it, and you two already got me back and I haven't done anything to Ayame, so…" But she was cut off by Ayame clearing her throat.

"So you haven't done anything huh? So stealing Kagome's bag of pancakes and waving them in front of me cheering about how you have them and I don't isn't doing anything?"

"Come on, that was um, just a friendly gesture, you know, between friends." Rin said pleadingly.

"Oh, so eating them in front of me one by one is a friendly gesture huh? Well, this is my friendly gesture back." She glared evilly and side stepped Rin's attempt of a tackle and rushed out the door. She was soon followed by a completely distraught Rin.

"So that's what happened to my pancakes, I was wondering." Kagome looked over at Sango.

"Ya, I had heard about that, apparently, after the cafeteria incident, Ayame was in the locker room taking a shower when Rin stole her clothes. Then when Ayame was ready to get out she couldn't, especially since Coach Rick was doing his daily inspection. Rin, being her evil little self, asked him to stay and have some pancakes while Ayame stood there helplessly in the shower listening."

"So basically, Ayame's going to drag this 'pretty hair' thing out as long as possible."

"Yup, and I must say, it's a pretty fair punishment, an eye for an eye, that's my motto."

"An eye for an eye and the world goes blind."

Sango gave a slight chuckle. "Ya well, anyway, I hope you win tonight, we all going out for pizza after wards?" Sango pushed the door open, revealing the blazing sun.

"Course, and we can probably pawn off the bill on the guys." Together the two walked out towards the pit, where part of her team was waiting, where the other half was, was anyone's guess. As long as they were warmed up, Kagome was happy.

"Defiantly liking the sound of that, remind me to go all out while ordering. And I really need to get one of those coach outfits. They're wicked! And red is a really good color on you. Can you get me one with pink?"

"You make me laugh Sango. So where do you want to sit, at the bleachers or at the pit?"

"Personally, I kinda want to see how Rin fairs."

"Good, I was hoping you would say that."

"Stab that knife in Kag's. Wow, you really don't want me around, oh, and the knife twists." Sango made a dramatic pose as if she was dead, yet, apparently still walking.

"Hey, your not the only one who wants to see how it turns out. I want updates missy. And by the way, my wrist would be turning the other way, opposite of you, remember?"

"Sorry, my bad."

They laughed and both headed off to their designated directions.


	9. The Game

Kagome was pissed, no, she was really pissed. Who the hell did Inuyasha think he was? Taking her team like that. Oh he was going to pay. While she had been in the bathroom, with the rest of the goddesses, he had been individually singling out her team in order to get some information. Luckily, Kohaku had been one of the ones chosen and managed to make sure no one said anything. Literally, it was like they no longer had voice boxes, not that they would have said much anyway 'cause they were extremely loyal, but a lot can be interpreted from a phrase.

Not only that but she was late to the coach's 'friendly' beginning handshake because she was running around looking for them. He nearly disqualified her team, not to mention made her look like a complete ass, not that that mattered much. The opposing teams coach was a real jackass, you know the kind that would do anything to win, including trying to crush the hand of the opposing teams coach in a handshake. Like she said, 'friendly' beginning handshake.

Kagome managed a quick glance over at Sango who was sitting next to Sesshomaru, Rin, Kouga and Inuyasha. Kagome's only guess was that Miroku hadn't noticed that Sango was sitting down there yet, cause if he had, you know he'd be inches away from wherever the hell she happened to be.

Kagome turned around and focused back on her team. There was a runner on first and they were down by three runs. Luckily they only had one out, but that would only get them so far. Kohaku was really going to have to power house this one.

"Coach, what do you want me to do?" Asked Kohaku, bat in hand.

An idea suddenly hit. "Tap it."

"What?"

"If we do this right, and they're as tough as they look, then ya, tap it, it's the only plan that I can see working."

"But?"

"Kohaku, you're known for being a power house hitter, look how far they've moved back. Just act like your going to give it all you've got and then tap it."

"Alright, you're the coach."

Kohaku moved up to the plate and prepared for one of his famous all out hits, but as soon as the ball left the pitchers hand he relaxed, throwing everyone for a loop. He did just what Kagome said and tapped the ball with his bat then sprinted off to first base. Both pitcher and catcher were completely confused. They both stared at the ball like it was somehow defying gravity, sitting there between home plate and the pitchers mount. Kagome could hear the other coach yelling at his team to hurry up and finally the pitcher obliged, but was a little to late because Kohaku had managed to get to first while Sota was on second.

Kagome looked over to see the other teams coach looking as if he was going to hurl something at her right then and there. He had obviously been expecting Kagome to use Kohaku's batting skills; guess having his team all prepared for it, wasn't his best move ever. She saw him glaring daggers through his eyes. Overactive parents were just such a bother some times. All right, time to play.

She looked down to see Rex, another powerhouse hitter, looking up at her expectantly. "Tap."

He nodded and hurried off to home plate, steadying his bat. When it came he bunted it, leaving him on first, Kohaku on second and Sota on third. All right, almost there. She looked over to see the other teams coach telling his team to move in a bit, obviously not liking Kagome's tactics. She smiled and looked down to see non other then Shippo yanking on her pant leg, Yes, little Shippo was on her baseball team, in fact both her and Sango had been working with him really hard to make him an honorary member. In all truth, Kagome could easily say that he was a secret weapon, when he finally managed to hit the ball that is.

She smiled and crouched down to his level. "Alright Shippo, it's your turn, I want you to hit that ball as hard as you possibly can."

His eyes got wide, "As hard as I can?"

"Yup, I want you to get it all the way out in the field, past all the catchers and over the fence, I know you can, I've seen you do it before. All you need to do is focus, remember everything I've taught you ok?"

"But all those people are watching, I can't do it now."

"Sure you can, and even if you can't it's alright, we'll still have another hitter, but I really want you to be the one to do this Shippo." She sighed mentally, sure she had another batter after this but her plan would fold if Shippo didn't work out, oh well, no point in putting more pressure on the squirt. "Just try, ok? Just remember what it was like when it was just us on the field, no one else, everyone else is gone."

"K." Shippo walked over to home base and swung the over sized bat over his shoulder. Kagome could see the other team moving in even more. She couldn't blame them, with the combination of bunts she'd dealt and Shippo being so small, they were probably expecting a weak hit, if any.

The first ball was thrown, and Shippo swung.

"Strike one." Called the umpire. Kagome could vaguely hear the other teams side remarks on Shippo's swing, they weren't pleasant, and she was sure Shippo could hear them much better.

Another ball was thrown, Shippo swung. "Strike two." Rang in Kagome's ears. She made a quick glance over at the bleachers to see one thing she never thought she would be happy to see, today of all days, but the world works in mysterious ways. "Time." she yelled

"Hey, we're in a game, no body does that!" Yelled the other coach.

"Is it against the rules?" she asked extremely annoyed, this dumb bastered had already broken about a dozen regulations and here he was trying to pin her! This is the creep who had already tried to pay off her players to loose the game!

"I'll have to think abou…" The umpire's words were lost when Kagome looked at him, come on, who the hell do you think taught Shippo how to do his adorable puppy eyes, Inuyasha? I don't think so. "Um…"

"Please, I promise it will only be for a tiny little second, it's just so hard, going to school…" She suddenly broke down in tears. "…and being the coach, and a girl, no one, sob, treats you with, sob, any respect. And it's not like my boyfriend has a lot of spare time to come to the games, and he's here, sob, and I just wanted a little reassurance." The tears were flowing freely now.

"Um, ok, but just for a sec." He said while slightly unsure of himself.

"Oh, thank you, I promise it won't be long. Your so kind, any woman would be glad to have an understanding guy like you around." She added. Kagome gave a slight glance in his direction to see his chest puff out a bit. She quickly walked away, making sure to still make snuffling noises, not wanting to blow her cover. Kagome could vaguely here the other coach being threatened with a technical for anger management. Guess that ego boost really did come in handy, flattery can get you far.

She quickly walked out side of the gate and rushed over to Inuyasha. He looked thoroughly confused too. Then she remembered the boyfriend statement, she gave a silent laugh, his face was hysterical. It was a mixture of bewilderment and confusion, wait, those were the same things. All right, he was just plain confused, but would he be Inuyasha if he were any another way?

Deciding to have a little fun, at Inuyasha's expense of course, she quickened her pace and flung her arms around him, pulling him into a large hug. She could feel him tense up with the contact, and she could just imagine his face. Then something weird happened, his body relaxed and his arms slid down to her waist, pulling in a bit.

She quickly sat up and looked away, still trying to contemplate what just happened, but eventually decided that she didn't have time and it was going in the very large file of 'I'll think about it later'. She looked over at her three friends, and noticed that Miroku was next to Sango, well that was inevitable.

"So, what's up?" asked Rin

"Who the hell cares what's up, did you see that awesome play? The way she totally turned her stragity around? It was pure genius." Sango looked up at Kagome expectantly.

"Calm down Sango, and I need a bit of help with Shippo. We all know he's a mad house when he can manage a decent hit, but he's never done it in front of a crowd before, I need some help in reassuring him that he can do this."

"Right," replied Ayame, "and those asses are totally asking for it too. The way they are taunting all your players. And can you believe it, he was willing to pay me 50 bucks to help sabotage the game!"

"I know, a lot of the team was offered too. But this is what I need, Ayame, you still got your Simple Plan CD with you?"

"Ya."

"Did you get that scratch off the "Grow Up" song?"

"Ya, Windex, it's a miracle worker."

"Good, give it to Inuyasha."

"What?"

She turned to Inuyasha. "Please Inuyasha, it's Shippo's favorite song and I'm sure if he hears it he'll calm down, and he wont be able to hear the other teams side remarks."

"Where am I supposed to play it?"

"The score board room, or in case you haven't noticed, their announcing all the scores through speaker phones. And aside from Miroku, you're the only one who can smooth talk your way into and out of anything, and well, Miroku's currently preoccupied." They looked over to see Miroku in the middle of another back rub, half asleep.

"I…"

"Come on Inuyasha," Ayame looked at him pleadingly. "I'll tell you how pretty Rin thinks Sesshomaru's hair is."

"What?" He asked.

"What?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Ayame!" Rin yelled.

"Oh, you didn't catch that, gee, I wonder what else she's said about you that you've missed. She probably likes you eyes too." She added non-chalantly.

"You are so dead." Replied Rin.

"Well that's funny, I didn't hear a denial speech there." Added Sango

Rin's face went pale. "Come on you guys, that's not fair, I was in the hating Ayame phase, you can't just pop something out at me like that."

"Still haven't heard it, wow, she must really like him." Snickered Ayame.

"What! No I don't, he's a self-centered arrogant beast that needs a muzzle." She said defensively.

"So you don't like his personality but he's good looking?" Argued Sango.

"What? No, that's not what I said." Rin was getting paler by the minute.

Sango and Ayame stood up and got off the bleachers. Sango pulled out her CD and gave it to Inuyasha, then looked at Rin. "Well, we're going to get some food."

"Wait! You have to believe me; I don't think Sesshomaru is hot! Guy's come back."

Kagome looked at Rin, trying not to laugh, she knew she shouldn't do it, but it was just so tempting. "Hey Rin, why are you going after them, I would think Sesshomaru should be the one your trying to convince."

Rin didn't turn around but you could hear her clear as day. "Because I currently don't have enough courage face him, while those two I can beat to a living pulp." She continued to walk away, mumbling curses the entire way.

Kagome turned and faced Inuyasha. "Ok, Ayame kept up her part of the deal, now you keep up yours." She pushed the CD into his chest.

"What deal?" He said while trying to throw it back at her.

"She said she would tell you how pretty Rin thought Sesshomaru's hair is, now keep up your end."

"I never agreed to that."

"But you never disagreed either. Now didn't we just go over this with Rin? Listen, if I can go through the pain of calling you my boyfriend then you can do this one little thing for me, besides, Shippo is your little cousin, it's family."

"Maybe you don't remember this from when we were kids, but I'm not exactly close to my family."

She glared at him, why was he such a jerk? No, really, someone please answer her. Oh well, she'll just have to revert to her favorite method of persuasion. Blackmail. "Funny, I don't remember it being that way when we were kids, in fact, if I remember correctly you used to take paint and mark up your face so you could look like 'your awesome big brother'."

"I um…"

"Actually yes, I remember that as well Inuyasha. You also used to pin down your ears to look like Sesshomaru's pointed ones." Added Miroku, thoroughly enjoying this conversation.

Sesshomaru's eyebrows raised, and looked at Inuyasha. "Excuse me?"

Inuyasha's cheeks turned blood red, matching his shirt. He quickly grabbed the CD and ran over to the scoreboard room.

Kagome looked over at Sesshomaru. "Well, this is an informational day for you isn't it?"

Sesshomaru's mouth still hung open. "You…you mean to tell me he looked up to me?"

"No, I'm saying he still looks up to you, though, more discreetly, and not quite in the same way." She turned and started to walk back over to her team but suddenly stopped and turned around to face the still bewildered Sesshomaru. "And by the way, I wouldn't let your head get to big about Rin liking your hair, it's cool and all, but from the back you look like an abnormally tall girl. Toodles." She waved the tips of her fingers and gave a wink, indicating certain things her and the rest of the goddesses laughed about constantly. Sesshomaru's true gender, sure they knew he was a guy, they had enough once upon a time virgins to account for that, but that didn't mean they couldn't joke about it.

Kagome walked back over to team and gave a polite nod to the umpire indicating she was almost done. Quickly, she walked over to Shippo who was still shaking out of fear. "Hey Shippo, I was just talking to the gods over there."

"The gods are here, oh great, make me even more nervous, now Inuyasha's going to tease me about how I cant even hit a little ball." He sighed

"No actually, he thinks you can do it."

"Inuyasha, he thinks I can?" Kagome saw the little kits eyes grow big.

"Yup, and I can prove it."

"How?" he asked skeptically

Suddenly Simple Plans, "Grow Up" song was heard throughout the small stadium. She smiled. "That's how, Inuyasha convinced them to play it, just for you. Now remember, relax." She gave him a quick hug and handed him his bat.

Kagome didn't want to loose eye contact with him so she walked backwards stopping when she felt she was in her appropriate spot. Shippo turned and let the music surround him, relishing in one thought, Inuyasha believed in him.

This is who I am and this is what I like 

_GC, Scum, Blink and MxPx is rocking in my room_

_If your looking for me I'll be at the show_

_I can never find a better place to go_

_Until the day I die, I promise I wont change_

_So you better give up_

Shippo looked back at the pitcher. He looked evil, that was really all that could be said about the guy. Maybe he was a giant or something, but it didn't matter, Inuyasha believed in him. Shippo continued to listen to the music. He could no longer hear the other teams chants, all he could hear was the music. The pitcher threw the ball at an incredibly fast speed, but to Shippo it was like the rest of the world was in slow motion. He swung his bat out, immediately making contact with the ball. He dropped his bat and ran, he had no clue where the ball was or whether or not he had gotten it as far as Kagome asked, he just ran.

I don't want to be told to grow up 

_And I don't want to change_

_I just want to have fun_

_I don't want to be told to grow up_

_And I don't want to change_

_So you better give up_

'_Cause I'm not going to change_

_I don't want to grow up_

Shippo was already past first and everything around him felt like a blur, he could see Rex in front of him, charging to third.

_I like to stay up late and spend hours on the phone_

_Hanging out with all my friends and never being at home_

_I'm impolite and I make fun of everyone_

_I'm immature but I will stay this way forever_

'_Till the day I die, I promise I wont change_

_So you better give up_

Shippo had already past second and was heading towards third, he could vaguely hear the other coach yelling at his team to pick up the pace, guess he should too.

I don't want to be told to grow up 

_And I don't want to change_

_I just want to have fun_

_I don't want to be told to grow up_

_And I don't want to change_

_So you better give up_

'_Cause I'm not going to change_

_I don't want to grow up_

Shippo was on third when he saw the ball in the corner of his eye, maybe he should stay where he was, but what's the point in the game if you don't get the thrill, that's what Kagome always said, and he was going to live up to it, besides, he couldn't let Inuyasha down.

_I don't want to be told to grow up (grow up, grow up)_

_I don't want to be told to grow up (grow up, grow up)_

_I don't want to be told to grow up _

_And I don't want to change_

_I just want to have fun_

Shippo looked up to see the ball being thrown to the prepared catcher. There was no way he would make it there in time.

_I don't want to be told to grow up_

_And I don't want to change_

_So you better give up_

Shippo immediately turned directions and headed back to third, just as the catcher caught it, but a bit to late.

_I don't want to be told to grow up _

_And I don't want to change_

_I just want to have fun_

He was already throwing it back to the third basemen. Shippo skidded again and headed towards home plate.

_I don't want to be told to grow up_

_And I don't want to change_

_So you better give up_

The ball was thrown back to the catcher, once again blocking Shippo. But this time the catcher was a bit closer to Shippo's frantic form, only a couple of yards away. Shippo turned once again.

_No I don't want to change _

The ball was thrown back, once again trapping Shippo and that's when it hit him, they were moving in closer and closer. Fine, if they wanted to play that way so could he, he'd just pull a Kagome and changes stragity. Shippo once again stopped and headed towards the catcher, full speed.

So you'd better give up 

The ball was thrown back but Shippo didn't skid to a halt. The catcher was a lot like the pitcher, abnormally large, especially to someone as small as him. This time when the boy caught the ball Shippo ducked and slid threw his legs.

'_Cause I'm not going to change_

_I don't want to grow up_

The dust finally cleared, leaving the two teams wondering if the little kit had made it. Shippo coughed, trying to get the dirt out of his lungs when heard a loud, "Safe" Shippo immediately jumped up and ran over to a thrilled Kagome. She immediately opened her arms and pulled him into a large hug.

"Can you believe I did it? I can't."

"Of course you did it, I had no doubts, almost for a whole five seconds there."

"Kagome!"

"No really," she hugged him tighter, "I'm so proud of you, though, I think you should go thank Inuyasha."

"Alright." He jumped out of her grasp and ran over to the bleachers.

Kagome turned just in time to see Inuyasha tacked by the energetic kit. All right, there was a rest of the game to play.

-------(At the pizza place)------

"We won!" Shouted Sota

"Can you believe it, we're going to regionals!" Shouted Kohaku

Kagome walked in a grabbed a seat at a large table that was regularly reserved for them. They came here a lot, and the owner said that when they would win their games he'd give them half off. She felt someone sit next to her but didn't bother to look up, she was to tired, being a coach is stressful, Kagome thought she was going to have a heart attack during Shippo's home plate run. Suddenly a hug cheese piece of pizza was hanging in front of her.

She looked up to see Inuyasha grinning. "Here, you deserve this."

"Thanks Inuyasha, I could really use some carbs."

He just laughed and gave it to her. "You know Kag's, out of every girl I know, you're the only one who would say that."

"Why? I mean, it's true. It's not like I'm eating it for the nutritional value or anything." He laughed again. It was sweet, it had been a while since she had seen him laugh.

"You know, you're a pretty good coach. Even got your team believing that I believe in them."

"You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Shippo would you?"

"Unless you can think of any other members of your team who charged me at the game, then ya, I'm thinking of Shippo."

"He looks up to you, can't imagine why, but he does. I'd say as much as you did with Sesshomaru when you were growing up, once again, can't imagine why. I didn't think a little jump-start would hurt. You should have seen the look in his eyes when I told him, it was like a world of endless possibilities were opening up to him."

"Really?"

"Ya, so don't go and be you and screw him up."

"I'll try."

Kagome looked over to see Inuyasha looking down at the floor and twirling his fingers. She smiled; glad to know that he meant that last statement. Kagome felt another presence on her other side and looked over to see Sesshomaru. "What's up?"

"Does Rin really think my hair is pretty?"

"This is not a conversation I want in on." Kagome glanced over to see Inuyasha get up and head over to where Shippo was playing pinball. She focused her attention back on Sesshomaru. "What?"

"What about my eye's, does she like them too?" he asked stoically.

She wasn't sure how but he did. How can you ask a question like that and be stoic about it, he really was weird? She grinned evilly. "Why do you care?"

"Answer the question wench."

"First off, calling me wench isn't going to get an answer out of me, second, I thought you had two questions?"

"I do."

"Then why'd you say question?"

"Because that's what I said."

"So you only have one question?"

"No…just shut up and answer the damn question."

"Question or questions?"

"Damit Kagome."

"Do you think Rin is pretty?"

"What?"

"Do you?"

"Well, I… you didn't answer my question."

"Question or questions?"

Sesshomaru's face turned red from frustration. "Your difficult." He then got up and left, completely forgetting that he even had questions for Kagome to answer in the first place.

"And I also just outsmarted the God of Knowledge." She whispered to herself. "Point for me."

Kagome quickly finished her piece of pizza and decided she wanted a pepperoni one. She got up and hurried over to the quickly empting plates. Maneuvering through what at the moment seemed like hundreds of kids she finally made it over. She looked back up, scanning the room and finally rested on Shippo and Inuyasha's forms. Inuyasha and Shippo were both playing pinball together, Shippo on the stepladder with Inuyasha behind him giving him pointers. It was the most adorable thing ever, that's when she had an idea.

Kagome stuffed the piece of pizza down her throat and hurried over to the back room. She pulled out a black camera and placed film inside it, luckily the room was lit extremely well so she wouldn't need a flash, no point in letting them know they were being filmed. She took a few shots of Inuyasha and Shippo and decided that she could only have so many and then turned around to find Miroku and Sango in an arm wrestling match. She had to get this.

She crouched down, in order to get some better angles, and took a few. They were really good too, she just hope they would turn out. The two were currently in a dead lock, evenly matched, in fact she was surprised. Sango was incredibly strong, and a lot the men's wrestling team couldn't beat her and here Miroku was in a dead lock. He was stronger then he looked, not many people could face Sango this long.

But Sango's physical strength was only part of the reason that she was named the Goddess of Strength. Her will power was something Kagome would always admire. Sango never gave up; if there was one thing Kagome knew it was that. Kagome could remember when Sango was younger, the end of Junior High actually, when Kohaku got sick. He nearly died but she stayed with him through the entire thing, never once giving up, she always believed that Kohaku would find himself and pull threw.

Kagome eventually decided that pictures were just not satisfying enough for a moment like this, so she pulled out her camcorder. Centering on Sango and Miroku's clenched hands and then moving out towards there stressed faces. Then something happened, Miroku started to loose. Sango grinned in triumph, but come on; Miroku isn't about to give up that easily.

"Come on guys, your not going to let a girls shame me are you." He pleaded. "Cause you know if I loose, it's practically the whole race of men loosing to the race of woman, and we don't want that."

The surrounding baseball team members suddenly tackled Sango's arm, helping Miroku push.

"What? Hey that's cheating!" yelled Sango

"Power to the men." Yelled Rex and he helped push Sango's arm down

"Ahh!" Yelled Sango as she, Miroku and all seven surrounding boys topples to the ground from the force.

Kagome was laughing so hard it was amazing she hadn't dropped the camcorder. The kids one by one got up giving each other high fives, until only Miroku and Sango were on the ground. Miroku was currently sprawled on top of Sango, panting, Kagome zoomed in the lens.

"I win." He whispered.

"Cheater." She panted back

All Miroku could do was laugh, he finally managed to push himself up onto his feet and then reached out a hand for Sango. "I wasn't the one on the bottom of the pile."

She grabbed his hand while he pulled her up. "I wasn't the one who needed help from seven baseball team players." She giggled.

"True, true." He muttered, and they both broke out in laughter.

"He Miroku can you help me with this shooting game?" Yelled Kohaku

"Sure thing." Miroku let go of Sango's hand and headed over to her little brother.

Kagome almost laughed at the disappointing look that briefly crossed Sango's face, good thing she caught everything on camera. "He Sango give me a hand?" she said while waving the camcorder.

Sango grinned, "Ya, I'd like to get a few shots of Ayame and Rin with Kouga and Sesshomaru. Hey, um, you didn't get me and Miroku did you?"

"Course not Sango, what kind of friend would I be if I did that?" Kagome grinned inside, completely betraying how she looked on the outside with her innocent face plastered on.

"Ok, lets go then, I'll record while you take pictures."

"Deal."

And so they set off into the room, preserving that nights unforgettable memories.

Firevixen73-I don't own Simple Plan or the song 'Grow Up' nor do I own any cheese or pepperoni pizza, because I already ate it all. Anything else? Oh ya, and I'm sorry about making Shippo's base runs so long, I don't think a single run would be long enough to play a whole song, but hey, it's my fanfic so I say, the bases are farther apart!


	10. Dinner party with a goddess

Firevixen73-Alright, I decided to update because well, no one else was. So here's some more of the story, I know it took a while to but I just couldn't motivate myself to write, the depression caused by school, probably all the homework. Here you go, hope you like and please review!

----------------------

Kagome sat in bed looking at the recently taken pictures. After dinner, with the gods mysteriously being left to pay the bill, she rushed over to the One Hour Photo Pharmacy and had them developed. She hadn't had time to pick them up later that night so that's why she was here, on a Saturday night, or Sunday morning, depending on which way you look at it, sifting through them.

Sango, Rin and Ayame were there as well, only currently on the floor, sleeping. Deciding that they had been neglecting some of their goddess duties they worked all night trying to catch up, Sota and Kohaku were there as well, sort of. Kohaku came over with Sango and the two spent the rest of the night playing video games.

Kagome looked over at what seemed to be the thousands of piles she had made, she was covered. Scattered around her were various forms of the gods and her fellow goddesses. She reached over and held up a picture with that had two people in it. It was simple, defiantly nothing extravagant, Kagome wasn't even sure when it was it was taken. Smiling, she slowly stood up and walked across her bed, silently jumping off over to her dresser.

Maneuvering over her friends she reached her vanity where she pulled out the top drawer, then reached back under and pulled out a smaller one, hidden from view. Unlocking it, she pulled out a box. Her father had given it to her for her fourth birthday. Opening it, she gently pulled out various objects; things that would be garbage to anyone else, but to her were priceless. Reaching for the bottom Kagome pulled out another picture.

This one had the same two people in it, only younger. She flipped it over and read it. _"Me and Inuyasha at the God Tree" _was writtenin her small six-year-old handwriting.

Kagome would always remember that moment, that was the day that Inuyasha finally admitted that they were friends. They had known each other for a whole year, and he still introduced her as 'this annoying girl that can't do anything herself so she drags me around to do it for her'.

Sighing, she took out a paper clip and put the two photographs together, but spared another glance at the new one. She was on a couch, tears pouring down her face because she was laughing so hard. And then there was Inuyasha; looming over her with that evil grin he was so fond of, tickling her. He was the only one, the only one aside from her father who could find her ticklish spots. Others had tried, oh yes they had tried but they could never get Kagome into tears like the two of them could.

Kagome carefully placed the two pictures back in the box, and locked it back up in her secret drawer. Turning around she walked back over to her bed, glancing at her clock. 3:28 am, maybe she should get to bed now, hopefully she would be able to fall asleep.

Reaching for her covers her she had two last thoughts. The first was about Shippo, how he was at a family dinner that night. She hoped he had actually eaten this time, after a bit more thought, she decided that she'd call him in the morning and make sure everything went all right. Then came Sota, he was always the last thing she thought of when going to bed. A vivid image of him and Inuyasha playing pool popped into her head. It was nice, even if it was only for one night, he had a faint father figure in his life, someone to look up to and to just, be one of the guys with.

Closing her eyes Kagome relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep.

-------------------------

Inuyasha sat at the dinner table, trying not to fall asleep. Then again how could he with Shippo throwing various foods at him under the table? In all honesty the kit was amusing, especially now that he had spontaneously decided that Sesshomaru needed a few new stains as well. Inuyasha turned back around, trying to listen to what his parents were talking about.

"The stock market…"

Time to tune out, damn this was boring. He felt another object hit his pant leg. Opening his eyes he saw Shippo smiling dangerously, only it wasn't directed at him, instead it was at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru looked different as well, he looked, amused. Was he missing something here? It was only the first course and Sesshomaru had already cracked? No something's wrong.

Suddenly Inuyasha felt something cold and slimy running down his pant legs, from both Sesshomaru and Shippo's directions. He quickly glanced down to see Ranch dressing splattered all over his pants. They were dead, that's all he had to say.

"Inuyasha! What did you do to yourself?"

Inuyasha looked over at his mother to see her scowling at him. "Umm…don't worry mom, it's a new trend."

"Inuyasha!"

"All the movie stars are doing it?" He somewhat pleaded

"I must say, you did make rather a mess there Inuyasha. You really have your hands full with these two don't you Midoriko. It's moments like these that I'm proud to have Shippo as a son. He's incredibly mature for his age, did you know? Already in his fourth year of piano, studying three different languages and is starting the violin next fall. He has grown up quite nicely hasn't he?" Said Shippo's mother while taking a bite of her salad.

"Isn't Shippo six?" Asked Inuyasha's mother

"Yes, why?" Asked Shippo's father

"Shouldn't he be out playing with his friends instead?" Asked Mr. Toshio

"Of course not! Not if you want him to succeed in life! If they believe now that life is all just fun and games they'll believe it for the rest of their lives. Life is work, the earlier they grow up the better." Said Shippo's father passionately.

Inuyasha looked over at his small cousin. Shippo's head was bent over his plate, while he silently shuffled his food around. Inuyasha had a sudden flash back of what Kagome had said, "_It's his favorite song"_. For once Inuyasha understood something, Shippo was forced to grow up before he even had a chance of a childhood, that's why "Grow Up" was his favorite song, it talked about everything that he dreamed of. It gave him confidence.

How did he not see this before? Had he really been that selfish? They came over for dinner at least once every two weeks and he had never noticed, so why now? Its not like Inuyasha had changed within the past two weeks or anything, had he? Of course not, it just wasn't an issue till now.

Inuyasha looked over at Sesshomaru, who had the same look of understandment on his face.

Three servers were suddenly in the room, clearing the food. Inuyasha saw them head over to Shippo's plate, which still had a good portion of food left on it, basically everything that wasn't either on the floor or on him.

"Sir, are you done?" Asked one of the severs

Shippo looked up at her. "Yes, I'm not very hungry." As soon as that was said, his bright eyes were once again cast down into his lap.

What the hell, Shippo was starving when he first came over, that was what, ten minutes ago?

"Oh, Midoriko, I've been wanting to ask how your boys have been doing in school? Are they still as popular as ever?" Asked Inuyasha's Aunt

"Yes, they are their father's sons." She answered smoothly

"Really, oh those were the good old days, I must say, it really did come in handy having the Supreme God as your cousin, got everything you wanted." Added in Inuyasha's Uncle

This was old; everyone knew Inuyasha's dad was the head god in his time; both him and Sesshomaru grew up with stories of how their father would rule the school.

"A little two much like their father." Modoriko grumbled to herself

"Yes, those were the day's, though I think the best time was when the goddesses put the 'display case' on you five. I thought you were going to go crazy." Said his Aunt

"Ya, felt for you on that one man." Added his Uncle

A sudden choking noise was heard, and Inuyasha looked over to his mother to see her desperately reaching for her wine. Taking a large gulp she place the drink back down, taking a large breath of air right after. "Sorry."

"You had the 'display case' put on you dad?" asked Sesshomaru. Inuyasha was glad somebody did, he was still too busy trying to figure out what was going on with his mother.

For once in his life, Inuyasha's father looked uncomfortable. "Ya…"

"What did you do?" Asked Inuyasha

"I didn't do anything!" he argued, though Inuyasha could have sworn he saw a quick glance made in his mother's direction right afterwards.

"Then what did they _say_ you did?" Asked Sesshomaru

"Apparently they didn't like our personality's."

"What?"

"I don't know, ask your mother, she was the one who instated it."

The two looked over at the now furious woman, who was currently debating to herself about whether it would be easier to hire someone to kill her husband or just do it herself.

"Mom?" Asked Inuyasha "What's dad talking about?"

She sighed deeply. "I was the Supreme Goddess."

"Excuse me?" Asked Sesshomaru, eyebrows raised

"What he said." Added Inuyasha

"You heard me, I was the Supreme Goddess of Mt. Olympus High School. Damit Toshio, I didn't want them to know!" She looked at her husband menacingly

"Slipped?"

"Why haven't we ever heard about this? And why didn't you want us to know?"

"Because I didn't want it going to your heads. I was hoping that you two would be nice and considerate and above all humble but it seems as if you two have too much of your father in you for that to happen. If you really want to know what happened, look at yourselves. You two take after your father as if he's been training you or something. Just like you, he was a complete player, among other things, and it was just getting to hard to deal with him, so we placed a block on all the gods."

"Mom! How could you do that to him?" They both yelled at once

"It was quite easy, and effective. Do you know how many girls a _day_ came to me complaining about your father saying he loved them just to dump them the next day, with a note or some other horrible break up method." She stated lightly, then looking over to her cousin-in-law's wife. "Anyone want potatoes?"

"Mom…"

"Just watch it, the 'display case' has only been used once in all Mt. Olympus High history and that was on your father, and if you continue to follow in all of his other glorious traditions you'll sure as hell get that one too."

With that, the conversation was over. Inuyasha knew it wouldn't do any good to try and push his mom further. His mother was a nice, easygoing person who usually agreed with everyone, but when that tone came she wasn't going to budge. Inuyasha sighed and looked back up, opening his eyes to see Shippo looking irregularly happy, which was extremely different from what he was two minutes ago, what's up with that?

"Shippo stop grinning like an idiot, it's unbefitting of someone of you intellect." Stated his mother

Shippo's smile dropped like a brick, "yes mother"

Dinner was pretty much quite for the rest of the evening, except for his oblivious aunt and uncle, who were talking the night away. His mother seemed to still be pissed off at his father and his father…well lets just say he didn't look like he was looking forward to tonight. He had already noticeably tried to apologize many times over but was given the cold should for every attempt, Inuyasha just didn't understand what the big deal was about, he wasn't gloating and neither was Sesshomaru. They were just sitting there listening to the conversation, I mean his friends, other than Miroku and Kouga, might have something to say about it but… then again he hadn't seen them in a while, let alone hung out. He had actually been spending a lot of time with Kagome.

Kagome…that was a whole other matter, he just didn't know what to think when he was around her, she always kept him on his toes that was for sure. Never a dull moment with her, like last night when she tried to pour soda down his head but he turned just in time, tackled her to the couch and made her cry from tickling her. Never a dull moment.

"Inuyasha?"

He looked up to see his mother looking at him expectantly, everyone else was gone. "Ya?"

"Can we talk?"

"What?"

"You know, like we used to when you were little."

"I was in elementary school."

"Please, you just seem to have a lot on your mind lately, can you please just let me be a mother."

"Fine." He sighed in defeat

The two of them walked out over to the back porch, heading over to the benches. Sitting down Midoriko looked at her son. He had changed, and for the better at that, Kagome always knew how to get the job done. "So how's school?"

"Didn't we go over this at dinner?"

"Like your teachers?"

"Does it matter?"

"Any girls you like?"

"…"

"Thought that was it." She smiled

"Thought what was it?"

"It's Kagome isn't it?"

"W-what? Kagome, why would I like Kagome?"

"Thought you didn't know what I was talking about?"

"I…what's the real reason for all of this mom?"

"Your different." Midoriko looked up at the stars, breaking eye contact with Inuyasha

"What?"

"Your not your fathers son anymore."

"What?"

"Your mine." She looked back at her son

"I still don't get it."

"Your not suppose to."

"…Mom, do you miss her?"

"Who?"

"Kagome."

"I see her often."

"What? Since when?"

Midoriko closed her eyes and shook her head, silently laughing. "I just do, you know she baby sits Shippo right? I visit a lot, though it's not the same by any means, she's a real lifeline for that kit, I would guess he considers her more of a mother than his own. It's actually quite funny, she plays mother to everyone around her, helping them, telling them everything's going to be better, when in reality, she has no one. No one to lean on when in trouble, no one to reassure her that everything wont come crashing down at any moment. No one to help her stand, yet somehow she does."

A sudden stream of memories came flooding back too Inuyasha. A small girl, running to him, tears pouring from her blood shot eyes. Her grandfather had died; the last string of hope that had tied her to her father was gone. He had been in the hospital for a while now, five months, but she had never cried, until now. He was placed in there due to a stroke, which he hadn't recovered from, that was a horrible day too, though there were other factors to that equation. Inuyasha hadn't known what to do with the small girl in front of him, crying in his shirt, all he knew was that she needed someone, someone to hold her, tell her the world wasn't crashing down, just pausing for a slight second.

He remembered that day, it was horrible. How he had forgot it was beyond him. He had promised her that he would always be there to protect her, and here he was, years later, just remembering that. He felt like running over her to her house just so he could talk to her, but he couldn't do that…so he'd do the closest thing to it. "Mom, I gotta go."

Inuyasha dashed into the house, desperately searching. Running over to the sitting room, he opened the doors. There he was, sitting there by the fire, reading a large book that seemed to be a dictionary, his mother hovering over him. Walking over Inuyasha looked up at his aunt, "Mom wants to see you."

His aunt looked up at him, away from her son. "Alright, please look after Shippo until I return, make sure he finishes his reading." Turning, she left, her clothes flowing after her.

Inuyasha looked over at his small cousin, reaching into his pockets he pulled out a bread roll. "Want it?"

Shippo's eyes followed the roll greedily. Swiping it, he stuffed it into his mouth. He hadn't eaten a bite during dinner.

"Want to play some video games upstairs?"

Shippo looked over at his cousin, a questioning gaze adoring his features.

"Don't worry, were rich, we've got room service."

Shippo smiled and grabbed Inuyasha's hand. "Alright, but, only if your blindfolded."

"What?"

"Hey, your older, you've got a huge advantage on a small guy like me."

The two had reached the stairs and were almost to Inuyasha's room, until Inuyasha got lost. Hey, he never took the stairs, why do that when you have an elevator?

"No way!"

"Your feet?"

"Not happening."

"Your mouth?"

"Keep dreaming."

"Turned around."

"No!"

--------------------------

Kagome smiled as she listened to the talkative Shippo, apparently last night was a blast, thanks to a certain golden-eyed cousin. It wasn't often Shippo was this happy, well, unless the goddesses were planning some type of revenge on the gods, he really liked that for some reason. "Shippo, calm down, I can barely understand you."

"ThenInuyashaandIplayedgamesallnightlongitwassocoolIkickedhisbutttohewasn'ttohappyaboutthatyoushouldbringituptohim-"

"Shippo, stop, breath, breath again, then talk."

"I had fun."

"Good, but I gotta go now, I have a yearbook meeting to get to and considering I'm the Editor in Chief I should probably be there, but I'll see you in a bit ok?"

"Love me lot's?"

"Love you lots." Kagome then put the phone down, just staring at it, he was just so cute. All right time to go. "Souta, I'm leaving, your sure you'll be fine?"

Suddenly Souta came bouncing into the room, literally, he was sitting on their oversized beach ball. "Don't worry, Kohaku and I will be fine, your not going to be gone long anyways, and yes we have your cell phone numbers, and yes we will be near the phone at all times and no we will not answer the door for anyone we don't know."

Kohaku and Sango both decided to make their entrances at this time. "I don't know Kag's, rebuilding a house is expensive, remember what happened the last time we left them alone?"

"Do I ever, I had to buy a new couch and TV because of them."

Kohaku looked up at his older sister, and the woman that he had always considered to be one. " That was a whole year ago! And we didn't mean to set the couch on fire, we're way more mature now."

"Ya," piped in Souta, "I even know how to do my own laundry."

Kagome looked at her brother, extremely skeptical. "Alright you two, how do you do the laundry?"

"Well, first you start of with separating your clothes-" Started Souta

"Into what?" Asked Sango

"Well, duh, the black stuff in one pile and everything else into the other." Said Kohaku

"Really?"

"Of course," added Souta, "everyone knows that, then you add in the bleach and soap."

"Soap?"

"Ya, that stuff underneath the sink, that you use to clean the dishes with." Informed Kohaku

"Then you can add in that fabric softener stuff, and the black stuff is warm water and everything else is cold water."

"I think I'm going to let you try that some time." Kagome said while laughing to herself.

"Kagome, we can't leave them, just listen to what they're saying." Argued Sango

"No, we really have to go, you have your wrestling meeting, as long as they don't do, well, anything, my house should be in one piece."

"Your either very brave or very stupid."

"Guess we'll find out when we get home, and don't forget, Shippo's stopping by for dinner."

The two boy's jumped into the air, high-fiving each other, then they both ran over to Kagome, locking her in a death grip. "You're the absolute coolest!"

Kagome smiled and ruffled up their hair, "I swear if you make me regret this I will individually pull each hair from you heads." Keeping her smile she walked out the door, "Have fun!"

The two boys watched as their sisters walked towards the door, shutting it, heading towards the High School. Damn, you know, she could be really scary sometimes.

"Alright, time for some fun!" They both yelled

--------------------------

"How about this lay out?"

"No, that's kind of cluttered looking, and there's a lot of trapped white space." answered Kagome "How about we switch this around, move the picture over a bit and take this picture out, leaves more room for copy."

"Great idea Kag's!" the former girl walked away, memorizing the layout her editor and idol had shown her.

"That reminds me, I need to speak to the Sports manager about the big rally, and can we please get a date set up with the cheerleading squad, we need to know when the next pep rally is, Kagura is really good with action pictures we need to make sure she's here that day."

"Right on it." A tall blonde sophomore scurried out of the room and into the hall, dialing the head cheerleaders cell number.

"You wanted me?" Asked her Sports manager Lisa.

"Ya, about the big rally, how many schools will be here?"

Lisa scanned through her binder, looking for the right page. "Here it is, looks like, five, yes, there will be five opposing teams, so six including us."

"Thanks, do you have a list of all the events?"

"Ya, I thought that might save us some time."

"You really are the best, can you run down and print off another copy?"

"Done, by accident, but still done, I just can't figure out that printer."

"Hey, a lot of people do things by accident, did you know that coke was a total accident, it was suppose to be a medicine to help with stomach pains, kind of like a liquid tums, but one pharmacist added carbonated water instead of regular water, he became filthy rich."

"Wow, so my screw ups could get me somewhere?"

"You never know. Now, about the rally." Kagome jumped up on her desk and whistled, loud, kind of like that ear-piercing whistle that you always hear but can never do. Everyone's heads turned. "Glad I got everyone's attention, here's the list of all the schools attending the tournament, and all the events, I want two people assigned to every event that Mt. Olympus is doing and one copy person, I'll assign those. The person assigned to writing copy will have to interview both teams and the photographers must go with them, maybe get some good before shots. Everyone good? Any questions just come ask me, copy people your names are on the board, but you can pick what you want. Now, when I say three you can just come up and write your name down next to the opposing school and event, remember two photographers, one copy writer, first come first serve."

Kagome looked around the room, she could feel the tension building up. "One." She kneeled down and placed the paper on the desk, "Two." She quickly jumped off her desk and onto the floor, "two and a half" silently she headed over to the door, "two and three quarters" Glancing once again she could see people getting into sprinting positions while the taller girls cracked there knuckles, man she was glad she didn't have to go through this anymore. "Three!" She bolted out the door, quickly shutting it, not wanting to be part of the war going on inside the room.

"You know, I better check on the boys." Pulling out her cell phone she dialed her home number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Souta, it's sis."

"You're checking up on us? Really Kag's we can take care of ourselves, I can't believe you don't trust us-"

"Souta, what did you do?" She asked in a harsh tone

"What…how…I, I didn't do anything."

"Cut the crap, your giving the 'you don't trust us speech,' what did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Souta-"

"No really we didn't, were following all the rules that we established before you left, and why don't you trust us? You are checking up on us which means you don't trust in our outstanding capabilities."

"I'm not checking up on you."

"Then why are you calling?"

"I wanted to ask if you wanted take out for dinner. Whose not trusting now?"

"Well you can't blame me for jumping to conclusions."

"And why shouldn't I blame you, did you do something?"

"No!"

"Alright, what do you want, I'm going to stop by Santiago's Mexican Restaurant."

Kagome hung up and laughed, of course she called to check up Souta, but did he actually think I wouldn't have an excuse. He really was a dimwit sometimes, but man, those three sure could eat a lot, more then Inuyasha, if at all possible, they were having her practically order the whole damn menu! Well, Shippo was over too, he was supposed to eat dinner with them but could something so small eat so much? And Souta did say they were growing but something was off. "Alright time to face the unknown, am I brave?"

Kagome creaked the door open a bit only to nearly have a binder knock her out from being thrown across the room, she could hear screeches and yells following the attack. Quickly slamming the door to block out there banshee war cries she sighed. "Ya, I'm brave, just not stupid."

"Hey girl, oh, let me guess, first come first serve."

Kagome looked up to see Sango biting into an apple. "Ya, hey you want anything from Santiago's?"

"Sure, you know what I like, see ya in an hour."

Kagome dialed the number and placed their orders, telling them she'd be by in about an hour in a half. Kagome took another breath and creaked open the door, silence. Taking a step in she silently peaked around the corner, and there was her staff, bruised, beaten, and gasping for air. Various objects were scattered around the floor and Kagome had never been happier that she had moved her laptop underneath her desk.

"Everyone ok?" She looked around and got enough nods to satisfy her. "Good, all right," she walked over to the list and scanned it over. "So here's the deal, copy people you have one week till the tournament to think up questions, both I and the copy editor will review them and give them back with what we think. Photo people, come up with some ideas on new angles for pictures something unique, you have until a week and a half till the tournament, both the photo editor and I will review these. We need these earlier so we can gat the proper passes to go out on the field, all right, we have a lot of work to do today. Lets get going!"

-------------------------

Kagome looked around the empty room, which had been packed moments before, they had worked hard. Yearbook was trying something new this year, Newspaper wanted to do a section on yearbook and what they were doing so they asked to print out a few pages that were going in the yearbook, pages that they already had done. Picking pages wasn't easy but she had narrowed it down to about ten, now she just needed to get it down to four, well, she still had a bit more time.

Sango walked in. "Good meeting?"

"Ya, surprisingly enough."

"Ready to pick up dinner?"

"Ya, lets go."

Sango held the three bags of food in her lap while Kagome drove. "How much can they eat?"

"I know!"

"Maybe we shouldn't have gotten all this stuff."

"You're the one who told me too!"

"Ya, but I didn't realize I would be caring it inside. Why am I caring it inside?"

"Cause I'm caring the desert."

"Sopapiallas do not way that much."

"No, but fried ice cream does."

"You go fried ice cream! You totally just made my day!"

Kagome kicked open the door. "We're home!"

"Glad you could finally make it wench."

Kagome, terrified because she recognized the voice, looked up to see a smirking Inuyasha sitting in the middle of her living room, Shippo sitting on his shoulders, and Miroku sitting on the floor with her and Sango's soon to be dead brothers surrounding him. Ok, now life was officially hell.


	11. My Personal Hellhole

"What the hell is going on?" Kagome asked in a monotone voice.

"Kag's, what's aaahhhhh!" Sango nearly dropped the large bags of food she was caring when she saw the horrible sight in front of her. "What the hell are they doing here?" She asked in a not so monotone voice

"Well, ya see, um, they kinda just showed up." Souta continued to scratch his head as if it was an intelligent thing to do, like it would magically give him the wits for the mental match he was about to have with his sister.

"Hey look, they brought the food!"

Sango looked at the vibrant Miroku, was he crazy?

Apparently so, because he casually walked over and grabbed the three bags that had just seconds ago been in her hands. Sango was to stunned to say anything, stunned, outraged, same thing, she just watching him walk into the kitchen with _her_ food, all the while staring at the door he was behind.

"Miroku! Get your perverted ass over here!" Yelled Kagome, Sango was glad someone did.

"Kag's don't be mad, it's not like anything wrong's happened here."

The formerly mentioned swung herself around to see her brothers quivering outline. "Excuse me?"

"Well, technically you know, we didn't break any rules." Piped in Kohaku

"We told you not to let anyone in!" Screeched Sango "Let alone these two."

"No, we said we wouldn't let in anyone we didn't know. We've known these two for years, why did you guys stop hanging out anyway? I never did get that." Questioned Souta

"You mean besides the fact that they are utter jack asses?" Screeched Kagome "And I swear Miroku if you don't get your ass in here now I'm going to sick Buyo on you!"

Miroku popped his head through the door as he stared at Kagome. In his mouth hung a half eaten piece of tortilla. "What, that lazy ass cat of yours? Your kidding right?"

A once upon a time non-existent vein now pulsed on Kagome's forehead, indicating a very soon to be breaking point. She looked back over to see him sticking one of her sopapiallas in his mouth. That was it. "Buyo!"

A large white and tan cat came waltzing down the stairs seemingly without a care in the world. He looked around to see two faces he hadn't seen in a long time. He looked back over at his owner, a questioning gaze in his dark eyes.

"Sick'em!" She yelled while pointing to the currently amused Miroku.

With those two small words something in the large oversized cat snapped. His eyes became fierce, like a lion ready to pounce on an unsuspecting prey, his stance chanced into that of an attacking mountain lion defending it's territory, his once harmless claws extended like a tiger in the middle of an attack. Like a cheetah he pounced towards the unsuspecting Miroku.

The tortilla dropped from Miroku's mouth to the floor while the sopapilla stayed clutched in his hand. Once he saw the former lazy cat pounce, he knew he had to run. It was life or death. Throwing the food into the air he ran into the next room trying to get away from the predator hunting him, wanting nothing less than blood.

Inuyasha looked at Souta. "When did he learn how to do that?"

Souta looked up at Inuyasha "Since about three and a half years ago. Remember all those break-ins that were happening? Well Kagome, knowing we didn't have a dog to scare off any prowlers, thought it best to improvise, hence the running in terror Miroku."

Inuyasha nodded in understandment. "Oh."

"Only sucky part is he will only do it for her."

"Ya that kind of does suck."

"What the hell are you doing here Inuyasha!"

The silver haired man turned to face the current dictator of the room Kagome. "Done with Miroku already huh?"

"I swear-"

"Hey looked, I'm winning!" Shouted Shippo

Inuyasha turned around to see the kit had finally passed him up and was now ahead of him by at least a level. He turned to Kagome. "Now look what you did." He turned back around and walked over to Shippo, picking up the controller, completely ruling out Kagome from his current world, hey, he couldn't let the brat beat him.

Sango and Kagome just stared at each other in disbelief. "Did he just-"

"I think he did-"

"He seriously just-"

"I can't believe he just did that."

"I'm going to kick his ass so hard his damn dad is going to be falling out of his chair!" Kagome stomped over to the seemingly unsuspecting Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked through the reflection in the TV watching Kagome. It really was amusing watching all her different facial expressions, especially the confused one, it's not like it happened often. Through the screen he watched her form stomp over to his own, while he remained calm, leading her to believe he suspected nothing. Telling she was about to pounce on him he quickly dodged from her newly manicured nails, turning his body to face hers at the same time. In one swift movement he pushed himself back up off the ground and tackled Kagome onto the floor, pinning her body with his own.

Inuyasha looked down at the completely astonished Kagome. Her eyes were wide in disbelief, still trying to register just exactly what had happened. Smirking Inuyasha stared at Kagome triumphantly. "So, what was it you were going to say?"

Kagome was shocked, no, that wasn't a strong enough word, well, she was something. She wasn't even sure what to say to his comment. "I, um…" It suddenly hit her what exactly had happened, or more importantly, where she was. "Get the hell off me Inuyasha!" She screamed.

Inuyasha's smirk got even bigger, if at all possible. "Um, no."

"What?" Any lesser of a man would have high tailed it out of there a long time ago from the glare she was giving.

"What, and have you try to attack me again? Or worse, your cat? Having to explain to my parents how a small fifteen pound cat beat the living day lights out of me, not something on my do to list."

"You have a list? That's surprising, see to have a list I always thought you had to know how to read and write. Guess you found a loophole."

"Ouch, you're killing me here."

"Then why aren't you dead yet?"

"It's a rather long process."

"Shorten it."

He smirked again. Something told her she shouldn't have said that. Damn, she was so not in the mood for his immaturity right now. Suddenly his body went limp, draping himself completely over her. "What the hell? Inuyasha get off me!"

His eyes were still closed. "Sorry, cant, I'm dead remember."

"Wha…fine, come back to freakin life just get the hell off me!"

"Promise you wont attack?"

Silence.

"Promise?"

"Fine damit."

"Or call the cops screaming prowler?"

Silence.

"Kagome."

"Fine damit, I promise that too."

"Or rape?"

Silence.

"Or rape?"

Silence.

"Guess we're going to be here a while. That's ok, you're warm." He gently dug his face into her neck, as if she were his own personal pillow.

"Fine you jack ass I promise!"

Smirking again he sat up and looked at her. "What a shame, I was almost asleep too."

She picked up the nearest thing next to her, which happened to be the game controller, and raised it above her head, preparing to throw it at the stupid man in front of her. His back was to her, he'd never know what hit him.

"You promised Kagome."

She froze in mid air. "How…what…you really piss me off you know that?"

He turned around, was that smirk ever going to go away and stop haunting her? "I'm hungry, how about you?" He walked into the kitchen where the rest of the food resided.

Kagome sat up and looked at Sango furiously. "What? You couldn't help me out?"

"Um...no?"

"Sango!"

"What, I've never seen Inuyasha so intent on something and well, it kinda freaked me out ok. Sorry for being scared."

"Not excused!" She turned to Souta and Kohaku. "And you two are so dead, when I get through with you your going to wish that you never heard of Inuyasha!"

About to lunge at the two friends cowering in fear, the last voice she wanted to hear came echoing through the kitchen. "No attacking, remember Kagome?"

Stupid Inuyasha, how the hell was he doing this? She watched the two boys in front of her scurry away to the kitchen, obviously wanting to stay close to the one person who could save them.

Suddenly a 6-foot form with black hair ran past them as if the fires of hell were behind him, oh wait, they were. Buyo came racing down the stairs, same ferocious look in his eyes. Kagome and Sango turned around to see Miroku up on the table trying to escape the over sized cat. He had a few scratches on his wrist and his shirt was ripped, over all, the whole situation was hysterical.

Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder. "You going to help him out?"

Sango decided to answer that. "The hell she is! She never told Inuyasha she'd do that."

It was at that moment Inuyasha walked through the door, taking in everything happening around him. "Kagome?"

"What? Sango's right I never said I would take care of that…" Stopping, she realized how a certain someone refused to help her in her little 'situation' earlier. Looking at Buyo she snapped her fingers once. Buyo stopped his attack and looked at her. "That enough boy, were good and thank you, Souta will give you a snack in the kitchen for your help."

Meowing once, he turned back into the fat lazy loving cat everyone adored. Turning around he waltzed into the kitchen anticipating his reward.

"Kagome? What he hell was that for? Now I'm going to have actually deal with him!"

Kagome shrugged. "Hey, if I have to go through the misery of Inuyasha, I'm not going down alone."

"Point taken." She sighed.

"Alright, lets go eat."

Dinner was long, and loud, and long. The entire time consisted of Sango trying to trick Miroku out of the house so she could lock the doors, while Shippo, Souta, Kohaku and Inuyasha were constantly stealing each other's food, the first three saying they needed more because they were growing and Inuyasha's excuse being he was older and they had to do what he said.

Sango, finally realized Miroku wasn't going anywhere and eventually gave up, that was until Kagome started to feel a bit bad about the Buyo incident.

"Listen Miroku, I have a few shirts you can change into up in my mom's room and I have some anti bacterial ointment in my bathroom, why don't you go put that stuff on?"

"No I'm fine, your cat barley touched me."

"I don't care, just go put the stuff on."

"Really Kagome, it all good, he barely broke my skin, besides, it's not like I could put the band aide on myself."

"Your right, Sango?"

Sango walked over, obviously not hearing the conversation. "What's up?"

"Go help Miroku with a new shirt and with a few bandages."

"What?"

"You know where they are, thanks Sango." Kagome jumped off the counter she had previously been sitting on and walked out into the living room, where everyone was watching TV.

"She did not just do that."

"Sorry love, she did."

She turned to Miroku. "You did not just call me love."

Miroku gulped at her tone. "Course not, ready?"

Finally agreeing she led Miroku up stairs to the very end of the hall. While walking Miroku was unexpectedly hit with the shivers, he wasn't sure why, he just was, it was like he wasn't suppose to be there. "Hey Sango, where are we going again?"

"Kagome's mom's room."

"Why?"

"Her boyfriends tend to leave their clothes when they come over."

Sango pushed open the looming door in front of them. Walking in he was hit with a blast of stale air, obviously no one had been in here for a while. Looking around he saw Sango turn on the light switch, and when she did he saw the thin layer of dust, which seemed to dominate everything in the room. When was the last time Kagome's mother was home?

"Alright," Sango pulled out a purple button up t-shirt from a drawer on the other side of the room. "Here's the shirt, I'll be back in a sec with the ointment."

Miroku nodded but didn't really hear, he was to fascinated with the room. Kagome's family had always had problems, that he knew, when they were friends in elementary school he remembered how Inuyasha used to console her when she would come running to him, tears pouring down her face. Her mother was a floozy and her father, well, he actually didn't know anything about her father, he wasn't even sure if Inuyasha knew. He just always guessed he wasn't a part of her life.

Walking around the bed he noticed a box full of small notes. Checking his shoulder to make sure Sango wasn't coming he opened one up. It was from Kagome when she was little, guessing from the hand writing she was about six.

_Hi mommy, I remembered grandpa telling me when you want to talk to people to write to them, I guessed that when you get back you can read this. I just wanted to say that I missed you and wanted to know when you are coming back?_

He opened up another one.

Souta is getting really really big, he eats a lot, I miss you lots. Are you going to make it in time for my birthday this year?

He opened up another one.

I guess you couldn't make it for my birthday, but that's ok, Yasha's parents threw me a surprise party.

"Miroku?"

Miroku turned around and looked at Sango, who currently held the bandages in her hands. "What happened here?"

Sango sighed, "Pretty much what happened every day."

"Sango."

"Listen Miroku, it doesn't matter, what happened has happened, now lets get you cleaned up and down stairs." She grabbed his hand and placed the cleaning jell on the scratches first, trying to avoid the questions she knew he was dieing to ask. She didn't look up at him once, she just couldn't.

"Sango, please, Kagome is my friend."

"Since when?"

He looked at her, tilting her face to look at his own.

"You heard me, since when? When were you or Inuyasha ever there for her? Where were you when she was raising Souta? Where were you when she had to get a second mortgage on the house just to make ends meet? Oh, that's right, you were busy pranking her and making her life even more of a hellhole than it already was." She turned around, obviously wanting the conversation to end.

"Sango?"

"Take off your damn shirt so I can get the scratch on your chest."

Deciding he wasn't getting anywhere with this he pulled his shirt over his head. "Alright."

Sango turned back around, her eyes red. Placing the ointment on her fingers she massaged it over Miroku's 'battle' wounds.

"I'm sorry."

Sango looked up at the man in front of her. "What?"

"Your right, Inuyasha and I have absolutely no idea what been going on in your life's, and whatever has happened hasn't just been hard on Kagome, it's been hard on you too, and I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"You…you mean that Miroku?"

He looked at her with utter sincerity. "Ya I do."

She smiled, a true smile. "Thanks, it means a lot." Grabbing the bandage she wrapped it around Miroku's middle, not realizing the compromising position they were in, but although she didn't Miroku did.

Grabbing her middle he pulled her down along with himself and he laid down on the bed.

"Mir…Miroku?"

"So what do you say we stay up here for a while, just the two of us, if you get what I mean."

"Miroku!" She shot up and punched him in the chest. "You dumb ass! Get your damn shirt on yourself!"

"Oh come on Sango, what was a suppose to do?"

"Oh gee, I don't know, have a shred of decency?"

"Now that's not fun, besides, your so cute when your embarrassed."

Sango was glad she had turned around, that way he couldn't see how flustered she was.

Miroku grabbed the shirt and tried to button it up, he was failing miserably. "Damn buttons, every time I re-button the damn thing it just comes out as lopsided as the previous time."

"Your such an idiot Miroku." Finally regaining her composure she turned back around and walked over to him, hand reached out to help with the buttons. One by one she buttoned them correctly, once again not realizing their positioning, and once again Miroku did. Though instead of being the letch that he normally was he just stood there and let her soft hands brush against his skin, just savoring in the moment.

"Alright, lets go back down stairs you idiot."

"Do we have to?" He groaned.

She giggled. "Yes you moron we have to. There is no way I'm missing my Gilmore Girls marathon."

"Please tell me you are not going to make me watch _that_ show."

"You ate my food your watching my shows, fair trade. Besides it's about time you and Inuyasha had some torture."

"What, a maniac cat isn't torture?"

She laughed and pulled him down the stairs. "Alright, some more torture."

The two soon reached the bottom of the stairs, Sango still laughing about the predicament. She looked up to see Kagome giving her a weird look. What was up? Did she have something on her face? That was when Kohaku turned to face them, she wasn't sure but it looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his sockets, Souta and Shippo too. What's going on? Well, whatever.

She walked over with Miroku and sat down on the couch. Kagome looked at the clock and squealed. Snatching the remote out of Inuyasha's unsuspecting hands and ignoring his 'hey' comment, she quickly changed the channel to WB, Gilmore Girls.

Inuyasha froze. "Oh hell no! This isn't happening. Give me the damn remote. Miroku help me out here."

"Sorry man, been there, done that. Sango said if I in anyway attempt to ruin the show she will sick her entire wrestling team on me."

"Miroku!" Inuyasha yelled in a panicked state.

Kagome smiled. "And justice is served!" Her and Sango high fived each other over the guys heads.

"Your totally kidding me!" he through his head back onto the pillow pouting.

* * *

"I can't believe Rory and her mom are still fighting, why can't Rory get her act together? She's tougher than that."

"Miroku, shut up."

"I'm just saying she should be happy her mom is finally engaged to Luke, not be mad that her mom didn't tell her, seriously, she would have if Rory was acting herself and not dating that jerk of a guy."

"You do realize Sango and Kagome said, 'look, there's the role they based off you two' when he walked into a room right?"

"It's a good thing Jess showed up like he did, but what Luke's secret?"

"Miroku I'm going to pound you if you don't shut up."

"Oh fine, be like that."

The two friends continued to walk home in silence.

"I'm glad they did that Gilmore Girls marathon like that. I wonder when the next one is."

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.

"Alright alright, that was my last comment."

Silence.

"Hey Inuyasha, about tonight-"

"I swear if you bring up that show-"

"No no that's not it, I just wanted to ask you about Kagome's parents, or just her family in general."

Inuyasha slowed down and looked at Miroku. "What? Why?"

"When I was up in her mom's room I just noticed a few things, like the thin layer of dust covering the room, no pictures of Kagome or Souta any where, letters Kagome wrote when she was little…that type of stuff. I mean I always knew her childhood wasn't the best…"

Inuyasha snorted at that comment but Miroku let it go for now.

"…but I guess I never knew that much about it."

"Anything else?"

"Well, Sango also blew up at me when I asked."

Inuyasha stopped in the middle of his stride and looked up at the stars lighting their way home. "Sango doesn't know."

"What?"

"All Sango knows is what has happened in the past few years and I'm guessing that it's pretty much the same as when we were still friends. Kagome's mom, is in laments terms, a tramp who didn't want or deserve kids. She's always been absent in Kagome's life, the girl practically raised herself. She knew how to make a four course meal at age seven."

"Well that explains why when we would visit her mom was never there."

"She was there, part of the time anyway, just passed out or with one of her boyfriends."

"What about her dad?"

"Long story."

"We still have a few blocks."

"Long story that I am not going to tell you."

"I'm surprised Inuyasha, your being unreasonably stubborn about a girl we've pretty much cast out of our lives for the past five years."

"I guess I just forgot. I forgot about Kagome and everything we went through together."

"Can't be that special if you forgot."

"That's the thing that's really pissing me off, it's the fact that I forgot."

Miroku was about to comment but decided not to when he saw the sorrowful look on Inuyasha's face. He was really tearing himself up about this wasn't he? Miroku would never have guessed that him and Kagome were that close when they were younger, but then again, him and Sango didn't join their little group till fifth grade, who knows what happened before that.

"Oh boys, your home? How was your night out?"

The two looked up to see Mrs. Toshio, Inuyasha's mother, standing there by the porch sipping a glass of wine.

"We had fun." Replied Miroku, he elbowed Inuyasha in the ribs to get him out of his daze.

"Oh, what? Right, it was fun. We spent some time over at a Kagome's house, that's all."

"Well next time you decided to skip out on a date, tell your date."

"Huh? Oh shit Yuri! How the hell did we forget about them?" Miroku looked at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was as shocked as his best friend was. They never forgot dates, well, unless they had something else to look forward to, and that had to be pretty big. "I'm not sure, we must have had something that we wanted to do even more so then go out, only problem is we didn't do that either. All we did was spend half the day with Kagome and Sango."

Mrs. Toshio smiled. Kagome and her girls were affecting the gods and they weren't even trying to anymore. "So, what did you do while spending the day with Kagome and Sango?" She asked in a seemingly innocent voice.

"Well, we freaked the hell out of Kagome and Sango when they showed up and we were playing video games with their brothers and Shippo."

Miroku smiled. "That was funny."

"Miroku got attacked by Buyo Kagome's cat."

Mrs. Toshio raised her right eyebrow. "Kagome's cat?"

Miroku frowned. "That wasn't fun, at least then, now it's hysterical, but I guess nothing is fun at the time that you're running in fear for your life."

"Watched an entire season of Gilmore Girls with Kagome and everyone else."

The left eyebrow went up this time; Mrs. Toshio desperately tried not to laugh. "Did you enjoy that?"

Miroku's frown deepened. "I'm so mad a Rory right now, I don't think I can talk about it yet."

"Then we left Kagome's house." Added in Inuyasha.

"That all huh?" Asked his mother.

"Ya, man I wish we could figure out what we would rather of been doing then going out with Yuri and her sister, all we did was hang out at Kagome's house." Said Inuyasha

"Me too. Oh well."

The two walked into the tall mansion of a house, deciding they wanted to watch some more TV.

Mrs. Toshio just smiled as she watched her baby boy walk into the house. "I wonder if he realized he didn't go one sentence without saying Kagome's name?"

* * *

"Honey?"

Mrs. Toshio lifted her eyes up from her book to look at her husband as the two laid in bed together. "Yes dear?"

"So, are the goddesses really going to put the 'display case' on my boys?" He asked.

"Maybe."

"Come on, we're married, we're suppose to be able to tell each other everything."

"I got my first period when I was in eighth grade, the first boy I kissed was Tommy Rob-"

"I don't need or want to hear this."

"I thought we were suppose to tell each other everything honey?"

"You could at least tell me who they are."

"I lost my virginity to-"

"Going to sleep now."

Mrs. Toshio smiled. Well, looks as if the goddesses win another round.

* * *

"Hey Kag's, why was everyone looking at me funny when I was walking down the stairs?" Asked Sango.

"You were holding Miroku's hand…Sango? Sango?" Kagome put town the paper work that had previously occupied her hands and turned around to see why Sango was so quite, only to find a passed out Sango on her bedroom floor.

* * *

**Authors end note:** It's another chapter! Yay, so please review, and I've started my Inuyasha **Black Widow** **Story**, so please read that as well. For a brief summary Kagome and her team are expert black market thieves who want the sword belonging to Inuyasha and Kagome (Shadow) has to go undercover as a maid in his house to figure out where he and his friends hid it. Inuyasha is also a world famous playboy. Good? Good. Please check it out and review. 


	12. What did you do this Weekend?

Firevixen73- Oh my gosh, so I had the chapter ready about three weeks ago but my hard drive crashed so we went to get it fixed. Then, when they said everything would be saved, everything wasn't. So I get it back and all the chapters I had are erased, including this one, that made me mad, so I'm going to try and get it as close as I had it.

* * *

Rin and Ayame were turning red from laughter as they listened to Sango's story from the previous weekend. "Shut up you two, it's not funny!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about Sango 'cause this is hysterical." said Ayame while falling backward onto the ground.

"Kagome why did you make me tell them?" whined Sango to her best friend

"I wouldn't have had to force you if you would have told them yourself, remember, we need to share the experiences we have with the gods so we can debate about what to do next, how are we suppose to do that if you don't share?" answered Kagome calmly as she took a bite out of her apple.

"But, could you have at least let me leave out the embarrassing parts?"

"I can't believe you passed out!"

"Ayame!" Sango threw her water bottle at Ayame but she ducked just in time.

Ayame looked at Sango and grinned, "I wonder, if that would have hit me if I would have passed out?" Ayame and Rin looked at each other and started to laugh again

"Kagome!" whined Sango once again

"What? I mean it's not like your weekend was that bad Sango, I personally don't think it's as nearly embarrassing as Ayame's weekend." Kagome took another bite out of her apple without a care in the world, not realizing what she had just set in motion.

Ayame suddenly stopped laughing when she heard Kagome's words, she looked up to see both Rin and Sango looking at her skeptically. Kagome looked up wondering what the sudden silence was about, last time that happened she turned around to see Sango passed out on the floor. She looked directly at Ayame who looked ready to retry her failed attempt at the disappearing act she attempted back in the eighth grade talent show. "Ayame, please tell me you told them."

"Well not exactly."

"Ayame!"

"That's not exactly a story I want going public."

"Ayame, you have to tell us, it's a goddesses duty to share all her embarrassing moments with her fellow companions, especially if it has anything to do with the gods." squealed Rin

"That and I want some serious payback on my part." smirked Sango

"Oh fine guess I have to, alright, you know that huge scholarship gallery I was going to this weekend, well there I was minding my own business…"

_Ayame looked over at the people around her, they were all so much older, more mature and over all, better. Their art work was so much more professional than hers was. Her stupid friends just had to sign her up for this didn't they, well, it was a five thousand dollar scholarship to your school of choice, but still, she was going to kill them. _

_It was that plain and simple, she was going to kill them for this. Ayame picked up her cell phone, ready to call up her friends and telling them off for sending an amateur like her to something as elite as this. In the middle of her dialing was when she heard the absolute last voice she ever wanted to hear, today of all days._

"_Ayame?"_

_Ayame closed her eyes and refused to turn around, if she couldn't see him then the obvious conclusion would be that he wasn't there._

"_Ayame, hey it is you. What are you doing here? Did you enter, hey is this one yours?"_

_Out of the corner of her eye she saw a hand reach out to the blue table cloth covering her artwork. "Oh hell no Kouga, get your grimy hands off my work!" She spun around and punched the wolf in front of her on the arm._

_She looked up to see Kouga smiling, rubbing his arm, but smiling. "Hey, I got you to turn around didn't I?"_

_Well, if her friends weren't here to yell at Kouga would make an adequate substitute. "You pompous jack ass, I'm going to beat you to a pulp, at least I will as soon as this thing is over and I can book it out of here."_

_He reached out again, trying to lift up the table cloth. She punched his arm again. "What's your problem woman? Are you trying to break it or something? This arm has never done anything to you."_

_Ayame snickered "You mean besides being attached to you?"_

"_Funny, come on, I want to see it."_

"_No, it's not very good."_

"_Ya, that's why it's in a competition, Come on Ayame."_

"_No, all the others here, they're just so professional, mine won't stand a chance, it's not good enough."_

_Kouga dropped his hand. "Nothing you ever do is ever bad Ayame, you know that."_

"_Compared to them it will be, that's it, I'm taking it down." Ayame reached out and tried to pull her covered picture off its stand._

_Kouga reached out and grabbed her hand. "Staying."_

"_No it's not." She pulled on one end_

"_Yes it is." He pulled on the other._

"_So is it staying or going?"_

_The two turned around to see a man in his late sixties staring at them, Ayame tried to hold her temper, she really did, but all her frustrations were reaching their max. "You have a problem mister? Because I really believe this isn't your conversation, and who might I add, do you think you are to but in?"_

"_The head judge."_

_Ayame's mouth dropped, she just told off the head judge. She was just scarred for life, every dream she had just went flying out the door. Well if she didn't have a chance before she sure as hell didn't now. A group of four walked up beside him. "So where is the picture by Ms. Ayame?" asked one of them_

_Kouga took this chance and snatched the large frame and picture out of Ayame's hands and placed it on its stand. He threw off the cover and watched the judges' faces. Ayame, petrified from the whole experience suddenly felt the urge to talk. "I know not good, and I was going to take it dowehab-"_

_She looked up to see Kouga's hand over her mouth and him smiling stupidly at the gazing judges. "Ignore her; she's just a goof some times."_

_Ayame tried to talk again but it just came out in muffles, fed up with it all she bit Kouga's hand. He immediately drew away with a horrified look on his face. "Now that was just wrong."_

"_Maybe you shouldn't try to suffocate me, now, as I was saying-" But she was cut off once again by Kouga who stuffed the thin blue sheet that once covered her picture into her mouth. While trying to pull it out the judges walked away._

_Kouga turned to her. "What the hell were you doing, were you trying pull your self out?"_

_Ayame spat from the taste of the sheet. "Funny I was about to ask you the same thing you moron. Were you trying to kill me?" She took a swing at his arm but he dodged._

"_I just saved your ass and your trying to kill me?" he dodged another blow_

"_I would have been fine on my own thank you very much."_

"_You're way to emotional some times." He didn't dodge fast enough that time gaining him another bruise on his arm. Not wanting to die at such a young age Kouga ran to the other side of the stadium, Ayame quickly on his tail._

_An hour later a smiling Ayame came bouncing back to her area with a very large bag of popcorn, a hot dog, nachos and a pop in her hands. "Thank you Kouga." She yelled over her shoulder._

"_How about you promise to stop trying to kill me and we'll call it even." Kouga smiled as he watched Ayame's bouncing frame, if only food worked this well on other girls. All they usually care about is what has no carbs, no calleries and no fat. He looked at Ayame walking beside him who was stuffing her face with popcorn. Not her. He smiled._

"_What are you smiling at?"_

"_Nothing, so when do we know when you've won?"_

"_I'm not going to win Kouga, and even if I do make it to the finals the judges have a surprise challenge to determine the winner."_

"_Not much of a surprise if you know about it."_

"_Well we don't know what it is." _

"_Right, so when you win that-"_

"_Oh my god, my picture, it's gone!" _

_Kouga looked over to see that indeed her picture was gone, no trace of it anywhere. "Ayame, come on it couldn't have gotten far, it's a picture." He tried to ease her emotions as her eyes started to water._

"_I worked for weeks on that picture, countless days in the dark room, that was the best print I had ever made, and it's gone."_

"_Don't worry Ayame, we'll find it."_

"_Ms Ayame, there you are, I've been looking everywhere for you. We had to take your picture up to the stage, your one of the finalists."_

_Ayame froze and looked at the woman. "Excuse me? But I can't be a finalist, I told off a judge."_

"_Well then your picture was really good, we must hurry, they are announcing the winners now."_

_Kouga and Ayame looked on stage to see the judge that Ayame told off bring forward the picture. Kouga's eyes almost came out of their sockets. The picture was of three girls, whom he immedialty recognized as Kagome, Rin and Sango, who were at the park watching the sunset. The black and white caliber of the picture brought a sort of fantasy look to it. With the sun outlining their shapes and the positions of the girls, it was over all just an amazing picture. How could Ayame think this was bad?_

_The head judge spoke. "Our finalist will be given 60 minutes exactly to complete this next task. They must do a portrait of anyone of their choosing. We have all the necessary equipment up here. The contestants can do a three dimensional project or a two dimensional. Whichever one the judges deem as the most worthy will win the scholarship. They have five minutes to prepare."_

_Ayame went pale, a portrait, but she didn't know any one here. Kagome and Sango were both at meetings and Rin was god knows where, they would never be able to make it on time…she turned to face Kouga._

_Kouga looked at her, what was that face for? Looks like she wants something, what could it be? Oh no. Oh hell no. "Hell no Ayame."_

"_Please, please, please, please, please?"_

"_No." Kouga turned around and started to walk in the other direction, but Ayame jumped in front of him._

"_Please Kouga!"_

"_No, here, do you not understand English? Let me speak Spanish for you, no!"_

"_But Kouga, I'm going to loose if you don't pose!" Sniffling noises started to come from her direction, but Kouga refused to look. "Kouga?" The noises got louder, he looked over to see her still holding onto the sleeve of his shirt wile looking down at the ground, sniffling._

_The same older head judge walked by and looked at Ayame. "You have a subject yet?" he said roughly_

_Kouga sighed. "Ya, she has me."_

_Ayame lifted her eyes to look at Kouga, with a dry face. "Really? Thank you, thank you thank you!"_

"_You weren't crying! I can't believe you suckered me into this!"_

"_I like acting as well, and you aren't getting out of this, you already agreed."_

"_Damn manipulative woman."_

_Kouga looked around at the respective finalists. They were all doing normal stuff, but no, he had to get the wacko. He looked to his left where someone was making sculpture out of wire, to his right sat a girl doing painting. Oh, ya, she was using normal colors, but not Ayame. He looked over at her, she was using pastels. He watched her pick up a purple. He doesn't have any purple on, or orange, or red, she did not just pick up pink. _

"_Kouga, stop freakin moving around."_

"_Can't you use normal colors?"_

"_No."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because in order to use normal colors I'd have to be drawing a normal person, now stop moving your mouth damit, this is hard enough as it is." Silence. "Tilt your head up a bit."_

_Kouga did so. "Can I talk now?"_

_He saw her reach for the black but instead of using it on the paper she threw it at him. It hit him square between the eyes. "No you cannot, now stop asking."_

"_The one normal color you pick up and what do you do, you chuck it at me."_

"_Yes, and I think it was used wisely."_

_Kouga rolled his eyes, but noticed the head judge looking at him and smiling. Oh shit, could he hear them? The woman at the end of the table farthest away stood up, "Times up, place your utensils down and we will debate."_

_Ayame placed the last color down and walked over to Kouga, taking a large breath and exhaling. "That was stressful."_

"_Sure was."_

"_You sat there."_

"_Ya, but you yelling at me the entire time wasn't helping, I sure as hell feel bad for the guy you end up marring."_

"_I'm going to kill you, you know that right?"_

"_Ayame, I knew that from the first day you told me off."_

"_Ok, just making sure."_

"_Here we have, third place, the beautiful painting by Ms. Kirk. Second place goes to Mr. Tony leaving first place to go to Ms. Ayame and her ingenious idea to think out side the box." Ayame froze, she won? She just won? Oh my god she just won!_

_Kouga looked over at the drawing of him they were holding up. The drawing showed his character down to the very detail, and not just through lines like he imagined but colors as well. Somehow Ayame had been able to capture his personality through the various colors. His smirk, his dark green hair, purple outlined face, blue eyes, it was amazing. He turned to Ayame almost as excited as she was._

"_I can't believe I won!"  
_

"_Told you."_

_Ayame laughed and hugged Kouga. "Thank for not letting me pull out of this, and for helping me out through the entire day."_

"_You two make a very cute couple, from the very minute I saw you two together I was instantly reminded of myself and my wife at your age." Ayame and Kouga turned around to see the head judge looking at them. "It seems as if your boyfriend is a good inspiration source for you."_

"Stop laughing, both of you, it's not funny!"

"That is too funny."

"Sango, Rin!"

"I guess you two would make a cute couple." smiled Rin while trying not to fall over from laughing.

Suddenly a tall senior boy with long blue hair walked up to Kagome. "Hey Kagome, was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out some time."

"Sorry I'm just to busy for a boyfriend right now." Kagome watched as the blue haired boy walked away, obviously mad about being turned down.

"Do they ever stop?" asked Ayame

"Second one this lunch hour."

"But Kagome," said Rin while smirking, "a boyfriend would be so inspirational."

"Rin, swear if you don't shut up I'm going to kill you."

"So did the rest of the judges think you guys were dating too?"

"Shut up Rin."

"That would be a yes!"

"So Ayame," Kagome said while taking another bite out of her apple, "if you're so mad about her teasing you for this weekend, why aren't you laughing about hers?"

The silence returned at the sound of Rin's laughter reaching an abrupt halt. Kagome turned to Rin not believing what she wasn't hearing. "Please tell me you told them."

"Well…"

"Rin! I swear I am the only one dedicated to this cause. Tell them, now."

"No, I'm good."

"Rin!"

"What, it's embarrassing and technically you're the only one who needs to know. Fine damit, but swear if any of you laugh, I'll, I'll, I'll think of something."

_Rin was standing in the library talking to the head librarian. "What, you're kidding me, this book still hasn't been returned? Who is this person, it's been four weeks. What about my other books are they all here?"_

_The librarian looked up and smiled after checking her computer. "Yes, it seems as if they are, they should be in their sections as well. Though, you're going to have to check them out yourself, I have a meeting to get to, I trust you won't steel?"_

"_Come on, you've known me since I was a little girl, I practically live here."_

"_Alright, I should be back in about ten minutes, can I trust you to be gone so I can lock up?"_

"_Course."_

"_Alright." The older woman soon stepped out and turned the corner, leaving Rin to herself._

_As Rin watched her she saw another figure appear, with long elegant silver hair swaying behind him. Rin frowned, "Men shouldn't have prettier hair then woman."_

"_What was that?"_

_Rin was about to say a comeback when she noticed a couple of books in his hands. "Oh hell no, you're the jerk whose been holding that book for four weeks?"_

_He looked down and smirked. "Seems as if I am, and I'm going to return it now."_

"_Wait you ass, I won't be able to get it till tomorrow if you do that!"_

_He dropped it in the bin, "Kind of the point of it all. Which is a shame since it was a really good book, lots of twists and turns. Never know what's coming next."_

_Rin threw her hands up in the air and then covered her ears, turning around she headed off into the section she needed to be in. _

_Sesshomaru smirked. He didn't know why tormenting her was so amusing, but it was. Deciding that he was bored and this would be entertaining, he followed her._

_Rin stood on her toes as she looked for the right book, there it was, on the very top. Why was that? She stood up as high as she could and reached, no, not tall enough. Stepping up on the first shelf she reached again, almost there, but suddenly a hand came out of know where and picked it up off the shelf. She recognized those markings. _

_She turned around. "Sesshomaru, give that back."_

"_No, I think I'll check it out."_

"_Sesshomaru!" She lunged for it but he just raised it above her head. She stomped her foot. "This isn't funny."_

_He lifted his arm higher when she tried to jump for it, "Yes it is."_

_Rin, then instead of jumping crouched down and reached into his pocket, grabbing his keys._

"_Rin give those back."_

"_Not till I get my book back." She said while smiling and spinning the keys around her fingers._

"_In case you haven't noticed, I'm bigger than you." He made a swipe for them but she jumped out of his reach and landed on a ledge about six inches off the ground. _

_She smiled back. "I have the higher ground now."_

"_Maybe, but now you have no where to go." _

_She looked around, "Damit." Deciding she wasn't going to loose this easily she threw his keys into her bag. Then when he lunged, she threw the bag up in the air and jumped out of his way. Hoping she threw it high enough that he wouldn't e able to reach it while it could still make it's way over to her. She looked up to be surprised, it was working, but her face dropped as she realized something, she had been running on adrenaline, adrenaline gives you strength, she threw it a bit to high. She watched as her purse slowly made its way up the chandelier, and then as it got caught._

_She looked at Sesshomaru dumbfounded. "Opps."_

"_Opps? No, you mean to say, Oh god please no."_

"_Oh god please no."_

"_Better." He walked over and scooped Rin up and threw her up on his shoulders like a sock of potatoes._

"_What the hell is wrong with you?"_

"_I'm not the one who threw my purse up into the chandelier, so don't talk. We're getting it down. I can't reach it but you probably can if you're on my shoulders."_

"_You could have warned me you know, and I am wearing a dress is case you haven't noticed." He pushed Rin up higher. She screamed. "I don't like heights, put me down."_

"_Relax; I'm not going to drop you."_

_Suddenly they head a door slam and a lock click. "Oh shit."_

"_What does oh shit mean?"_

"_It means I think we were just locked in here."_

_Sesshomaru immediately let go of her and walked over to the door. Rin went flying down to the ground, making a large thumping noise. She sat up, with her hair a mess and her dress wrapped around her legs, restricting any movement. "You just dropped me!"_

_He turned around once he realized the door wasn't going to open. "And you got us locked in here."_

"_Me? You're the one who had to be, well, you."_

"_That was a brilliant comeback."_

"_Why are you always blaming other people for everything?"_

"_Because it's always their fault."_

"_So it's my fault you stole my book?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What?"_

"_I'm glad to see you can admit your mistakes."_

"_That's it." She untangled herself and tackled him to the ground. "You need some serious wisdom beat into you."_

_He flipped her over. "I am the god of knowledge in case you didn't know that."_

_She flipped him over. "I don't give a damn, I'm the..." she almost blew it their, she bit her bottom lip, "the queen of England and I say, knowledge and wisdom are different. Now, accept the fact that it was both of our faults and I'll let go."_

"_You actually think I can't get out of this?" he said while smirking_

"_Considering Sango taught me this hold, I'd say no."_

_His smirk dropped. "Fine, it was both of our faults."_

_Rin smiled and sat up. "Alright, now let's try and get my purse back. Which isle was it in again?"_

_Sesshomaru smirked. "The one in the back."_

"_Ok, let's go." She rolled off him and looked in the right direction, standing up she reached out her hand for Sesshomaru to grab. He stared at it for a minute contemplating what this action could mean when Rin finally just grabbed his hand and pulled him up. The two walked over together to the back book case. "Ready?"_

"_Sure, just try not to break my back."_

"_Were you raised by dogs or something? Because you have their manners."_

"_Just get on." He lifted her up and she took a step onto his shoulders._

_But Rin made the mistake of looking down, and she immediately screamed. "I don't like heights so put me down."_

"_I'm not going to drop you, now just stand up."_

"_You're not going to drop me? Ya, because that was so true last time."_

"_Look, I have your ankles ok, you fall I fall."_

"_Alright, but if I die I'm coming back to haunt you."_

_He let out a small laugh, "Deal."_

"_Did the legendary Sesshomaru just laugh, oh my god, we need to call the top scientists and have them debate about your mental condition."_

_Sesshomaru swayed a bit. Rin screamed. "That wasn't funny!"_

"_Yes it was."_

"_No it wasn't!"_

"_Stop moving around so much, seriously what do you eat at lunch cows?"_

"_How the hell can you ask me that? Do you have any morals?"_

"_Just wonder, what do you weigh, 150!"_

"_That's it, I'm killing you."_

"_So is that a no or a yes?"_

"_It's a no damit. How can you even think that?"_

"_Just wondering."_

"_Well how tall are 5'11"?"_

"_Are you trying to insult me?"_

"_Hey, it's a well known fact that guys are just as weirded out about their height as girls are about their weight. So am I right?"_

"_I am not weirded out about my height."_

"_So 5'10?"_

"_No, 6'1 and three quarters."_

"_Not weirded out huh?"_

"_Just reach before I drop you."_

"_Just remember I'll land on you." She reached up and stretched out her hand. "Oh god this is scary."_

"_I'm not going to drop you, don't worry."_

"_Hey, remember that time when Miroku was trying to make a slam dunk and he knocked himself out?"_

_Sesshomaru gave a silent laugh. "How could I forget that, he was out for two days."_

"_I swear he bounced like three feet."_

"_At least."_

"_I almost got it."_

"_What about when Kouga was tricked into being a spot for the cheer leading team?"_

"_Oh, and how he tripped, causing the whole pyramid to come down?"_

"_Ya, that was great."_

_Suddenly a clicking noise was heard and a voice radiated threw the library, "I can't believe I forgot my cell phone."_

_Rin and Sesshomaru both came tumbling down. When they looked up the had rolled to the end of the isle so they whoever was there could see them, only Sesshomaru was currently sprawled out on top of Rin while her clothes were tangled and she clutched his waist. They both looked over to see the librarian looking at them wide eyed._

"It was so embarrassing."

Sango and Ayame were now both on the ground, rolling with laughter.

"Hey, stop laughing. Kagome make them stop laughing."

"Hey don't look at me. Think of it this way, at least you got your purse back right?"

"Don't remind me."

Sango sat up. "What do you mean, what could be bad about that?"

"Well, we were trying to tell her what really happened but she didn't believe us so she wanted to see the purse, but apparently I had managed to pull it down when we fell. I had to convince her to look at the security cameras before she believed me."

"Oh this is just way to funny." Said Ayame while still laughing. "I must admit, Rin, you topped us all."

"Topped who all?"

The four girls turned around to see non other that Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga and Sesshomaru standing behind them. Kagome smiled. "Oh, we were just debating about who had the most interesting weekend."

She saw Sesshomaru look in the other direction. Inuyasha sat down next to the girls, as did the others. "Come to think of it, I know what you did Miroku, but what about you two? Kouga? Sesshomaru?"

Kouga and Sesshomaru both looked at each other. "Well…parents…park…practice." They looked back at each other.

Kagome smiled. "I'm sure they were just busy Inuyasha, high school isn't always fun and games right guys?"

They both nodded, glad to have someone covering for them.

"I don't know, we should hear what they did, I think it would be amusing." Sango smiled as Rin and Ayame's faces both dropped. "Hey Kouga, been to any good art galleries, and Sesshomaru, read any good books lately?"

That was it, both Ayame and Rin tackled Sango to the ground. The boy's mouths dropped. Kagome smiled. "Ignore them, trust me, it's just best to."

"Hey Kagome?"

Kagome turned around to see another senior with short black hair and a cocky grin talking to her. "The guys and I are going out to this club, so, we'll pick you and your friends up at eight?"

"No."

He stopped and looked at her. "What? Did you just say no?"

"Yes, can you go now? I'm trying to have an adult conversation."

"What?"

Rin sat up. "I know it's probably something you know nothing about but it's when a serious subject is brought up and must be discussed."

Now Ayame sat up and looked at the guy in front of her. "I've been thinking, we need boyfriends."

"What?" said Sango

"Well, at least someone to scare away all these guys who really don't get it that we don't want to date them, let alone have the time too."

"So just like someone to scare them off?" said Rin

"Oh, I already have Shippo, when I take him out he calls me mommy and I'll just add that I've never been approached when he's around."

Inuyasha stared at the four in front of him, he didn't know why but this conversation was making him mad, but not nearly as mad as that guy had. He was going to have to get his name, do something about that. He scanned the area around him and noticed that almost all of the surrounding men had lovesick puppy eyes when they looked at the girls, especially Kagome.

He elbowed Miroku who had obviously noticed the way Sango was being looked at, he looked at Kouga and Sesshomaru to see them ready to growl and some of the men.

Inuyasha looked over to see Kagome laughing, seemingly oblivious to it all. He was just getting madder and madder as he looked around, and obviously so did the other gods. "Hey Kag's, we got to go ok?"

"Um alright, but-"

"Bye."

Together the four stood up and left, leaving four clueless girls behind them. Inuyasha stepped around the corner and looked at his friends.

"What the hell has gotten into me, I was just suddenly all territorial of Ayame." said Kouga

"I don't know, me too, I say we take a break, we have been spending an unnatural amount of time with them." said Sesshomaru

"Ya, that's it, a party to get them off our minds and hopefully get rid of what ever it is they've done to us. Hey, I know about this college party that's going down tonight." said Miroku

"Alright, we're there, I need something to keep me busy."

* * *

Firevixen73-Hope everyone liked it and sorry for the late update, if you want the whole story check my profile. Please, please, please review. I have the best readers in the world! 


	13. The Display Case

Inuyasha woke to the suns bright rays beating down on his face, as if mocking him for the night before. Not wanting to open his eyes due to the pounding feeling in his head he kept them shut for just a while longer. Finally gaining enough energy he opened his eyes only to have them immediately closed again. Rolling off the semi-comfortable object underneath him he fell to a foot and a half drop.

He wasn't sure what was more painful, the drop itself or the loud echoing noise it seemed to create in his head. How much did he drink last night? Cause he sure had one hell of a hang over today. Trying to stand up he reached out in front of him and pulled himself to his feet, only to find himself surrounded by various passed out people.

The object he fell off was apparently a bed, containing two women. Glancing around he saw hundreds of beer cans scattered throughout the room. Grabbing his clothes and shoes he slowly walked over to the next dorm where he vaguely remembered Miroku being.

Walking through the door he saw Miroku passed out in a similar situation that he had previously been in. Kicking him in the gut Miroku made a grunting noise which once again caused Inuyasha's head to feel as if it was going to explode.

Soon all four boys found themselves heading out of the dorms and towards Inuyasha's car, but not before stealing a few pairs of sunglasses from a neighboring freshman. Sesshomaru looked down at the digital clock in front of him, then back at his fellow gods. "Do you guys remember anything from last night?"

He saw Kouga look down at his hands, Miroku grunt and Inuyasha never took his eyes off the road. "Ya," said Kouga, "the whole time, I remember thinking 'what would Ayame say if she saw me right now', but that's it, that's all I can remember."

"Same here." said Miroku

"God, how much did we drink?" asked Inuyasha

"I have no clue, but there is no way I'm putting up with school today." said Miroku as he grabbed a bottle of aspirin and shoved three down his throat.

"We already missed half the day anyway, we have no reason to go to school, and it's not like they'll give us homework or anything, we are the gods. What do you say we crash at mine and Sesshomaru's place till these hangovers wear off?"

"Great plan." said Kouga while taking his own dose of aspirin

"Agreed." replied Miroku, "Do you think their us anyway they can turn off that sun, it's killing me."

* * *

Kagome ran through the rain to her front door, of all the things to happen, why did it have to rain today? Guess practice is canceled again, at least she didn't have too much homework tonight, maybe she could spend some extra time with Souta.

As Kagome pulled out her key and pushed the door open she heard the phone begin to ring. "Shoot." Throwing her bag and purse on to the couch she lunged for the cordless phone resting on the coffee table. "Hello?"

"Ms. Kagome Hiragashi, Supreme Goddess as Mt. Olympus High School?"

Kagome stared at the phone for a bit. It didn't sound like one of her teachers, and it was definitely an older female, maybe in her mid thirties, how would she know who she was? "Um, yes, that is me, how may I help you?"

"Well, I'm afraid to say I have some bad news. I work at the College on Broadmore and, I happen to be close to Mrs. Toshio, you know, Inuyasha's mom? Well, she told me about the situation with the gods and asked me to keep an eye on them considering how much they like to party here, and well, they've been by."

Kagome didn't know what to say, was she joking? The guys hadn't been in school today, and she hadn't heard much, just that they left campus after lunch yesterday. "What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, Mrs. Drew, I really hate to have to be the one to tell you this but I already called Mrs. Toshio and she said I should call you."

Kagome was shocked, she was sure they had made a break through with the gods, they had been so civil and pleasant lately, well, as pleasant as can be expected. "Thank you Mrs. Drew, I will talk to Mrs. Toshio and tell her that you talked to me, I really appreciate this."

"It is my honor to be serving the goddesses again, when I was your age they were always so dignified and intelligent, knew how to solve every problem, I'm glad to see that has not changed. Good day." With that the woman hung up, leaving Kagome to ponder the conversation that had just transpired, god, what was she going to do now?

She didn't want to get up, she didn't want to move, she had honestly believed that Inuyasha and the others had changed, was it all just a façade? Fake? Temporary? Did he really sit there for six hours and watch Gilmore Girls with her or was that a hallucination of what she just wanted to happen? Hadn't he treated Souta like an older brother would, or, perhaps even a father? That day in the rain when he looked at her like he used to? When he hugged her at the ball park, didn't he hold on for a split second longer than what was needed?

The phone which was sitting next to her one the couch once again started to ring, it was loud, but she didn't feel like answering it, but she needed to, she needed to talk to the person on the other end of that line, she already knew who it was.

Kagome reached out her hand and pressed the talk button, placing the phone to her ear. "Is it true?"

She couldn't hear anything on the other side, but she knew who was there. "Is it true?"

"Yes Kagome, I'm sorry to say it is."

"Mrs. Toshio, are you positive?"

"Yes, I am, when I got the call from Mrs. Drew I told her what time you would be home and to call you, after that I called a few other of my friends who work there, they all confirmed it. Then, the next thing I knew the boys walk in the front door bloodshot and sensitive to all noise and light around them, said they didn't feel up to going to school today."

"I really though we had made some progress, I really did."

"I did too Kagome…I did too."

"I don't want to do it."

"You have to Kagome, you have no choice. It is your duty as a goddess, as the Supreme goddess."

"Do you really want to go through this as well? You know what this entails on your part don't you?"

"Yes, I do, but I think over all this will be for the better Kagome, as much as it pains me to say that, I really do."

"I guess I'll inform the others then, I'll be seeing you soon?"

"Yes, you will, good bye Kagome." There was a slight pause "You're doing the right thing."

Then the dial tone hit, indicating a disconnected line. Kagome looked out the window, Souta would be home soon, she'd better start on dinner.

* * *

Kagome looked around the large building once more; it was done. She had done it. Why? Why did Inuyasha force her to do this? Wasn't he getting better? She couldn't think about this now, instead was the time for anger, lots and lots of anger.

Kagome silently walked into the schools front doors hoping this day would go by fast, it wasn't going to be easy, the sooner it was over the better. Heading towards her science class she saw Sango sitting in the back, head down.

"Hey girl, you ok?"

Sango lifted her head and looked at her best friend. "Ya, why wouldn't I be? I mean, it's not like I was actually expecting everything to work out perfectly, right? It's not like it was old times or anything. It's not like Miroku promised he'd always be there for me."

Sango somehow managed to keep a smile on her face while those words came out of her mouth, even if it was entirely fake, and Kagome knew it. Kagome sat next to her best friend and rubbed her back, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better you can pretend you're the opposing team members for the wrestling match today all have Miroku's face."

Sango smiled. "Thanks Kag's, you always know how to make me feel better."

* * *

Inuyasha was stunned, what the hell was going on? His entire fan club was no where to be found, the many girls who would randomly come up to him and ask him out were now missing and his own mother didn't even talk to him this morning, she just glanced at him and then headed up to her and his fathers room.

Inuyasha stepped into first period science and he looked around the room. There it was again, not one girl was looking at him it was like he was the plague or something. He immediately sat down next to Miroku. "What the hell is going on?"

"I have no clue, but I don't like it. I went to talk to Sango this morning and she completely ignored me. Have you tried to talk to Kagome today?"

"No, but why would she ignore me?"

"Inuyasha, Miroku, we are starting class." yelled the teacher as he slammed his ruler in front of their desks

* * *

Kouga sat at a small table with his fellow gods, each as clueless as the next about what was going on. "Ayame acted like she didn't even know me."

"Rin walked right past me, even when I started to taunt her about her books."

"All the other girls are the same only when I try to talk to them they run off." said Miroku

"What is going on?" asked Inuyasha "Even the female teacher are different."

"I noticed that too." replied Kouga "We need to get to the bottom of this, I've already had three dates cancel on me, and those were for next week."

"Me too, do you think all the girls in the school are on some wacko PMS or something?" asked Miroku

A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes walked past Sesshomaru but he immediately grabbed her wrist. "What the hell is going on with the woman in this school?" Silence "Why won't you look at me?"

Her eyes became watery, but a slim 5 foot 5 woman with long black hair stepped forward. If Inuyasha didn't know any better he would have said that this never could have been Kagome, this woman was fierce, determined, and boiling mad. The kind of mad that made him shiver.

"Because you four had to go and break the rules, you four had to go get drunk at that college party last night. Your four, just had to be you!" Kagome grabbed the sobbing girls hand and pulled her over to the girl's bathroom where the blonde could fall apart in peace.

This time it was Rin, Sango and Ayame who stepped up. "I hope your happy now, because the goddesses sure as hell aren't."

Kouga stood up. "What does that mean, and how the hell would you know what their feeling?"

Ayame looked at Kouga like he was some disgusting insect, or worse, some wild beast which managed an escape from its cage. "You disgust me, do us all a favor and go back to the cave you crawled out from." Ayame turned around and walked towards the girl's bathroom, Sango close on her heals.

Rin turned around but Sesshomaru caught her. "What did Kagome mean Rin?"

She turned back around, holding in her tears. "She means you are following in your wretched fathers footsteps Sesshomaru, all these years that you have strived to be him, you finally did it. The goddess placed the display case on you Sesshomaru, you are horrible enough to be banned!"

Rin immediately turned around and headed off towards her friends.

* * *

Inuyasha didn't go to the rest of class, instead, he just sat in his car staring at the steering wheel. It was as if his entire foundation of life had just caved on top of him. Every thought, every lesson, every moral, every desire…everything.

What was worse, Kagome was mad at him. The way she looked at him, the pain and hatred in her eyes was what truly haunted him. Just by looking at her he could tell what effort she had to put forth to even talk to him.

Why? Why was she so mad? It was just a party, he just drank, he just danced, wasn't that all he did? Of course it wasn't, he knew what he did, but he couldn't understand why Kagome cared so much, or, why he cared about what she thought of him.

He punched his steering wheel, ignoring the loud horn radiating through the parking lot. He was actually in the teacher's lot, it was closer to the building, he was the schools supreme god after all. Actually all the gods had their cars up here, they never got tickets for it. The student parking lot was farther and him being who he was, there was really no point.

He lifted his fist, why couldn't he get Kagome's devastated look out of his mind. No, devastated wasn't the right word, horrified, hating, loathing…those were the correct words.

"Inuyasha." The old accent was unmistakable

Inuyasha looked up to see Principal Kayede staring at him. She wore a dark grey suit and flats for shoes. "I really don't have the patience to deal with you right now old hag."

Kayede sighed. "Inuyasha, part of being a leader is having humility, ye need to learn to take advice and accept the fact that ye might be wrong. I may be an 'old hag' as ye so delicately put it but ye know I have gained much experience through my years. Now, may this old hag join ye?"

Inuyasha just looked at her but eventually straitened his posture and glanced in her direction. Kayede, recognizing that this was as close to a yes as she was going to get, opened the perfectly polished silver door and sat down on the black leather seats. "The block has been placed child."

"Ya, got that, is that is? Cause if it is you're not very good at this whole advice thing." he answered bitterly

"Inuyasha." she spoke with an all knowing tone, exasperation lingering on each syllable

"..."

"First of all, I want ye to know, that it killed the supreme goddess to order the ban. She didn't want to do it."

Inuyasha hit his steering wheel again. "Then why did she do it?"

"Because she had no choice Inuyasha."

"No choice? No choice, funny, I don't remember anyone making her do this."

"Really? Because I had the distinct impression that she did."

"Who?"

"You Inuyasha, you and the fellow gods forced her into this decision. You, Miroku, Kouga, Sesshomaru…ye three have no respect for others and for that ye must be reprimanded. What you four, just as your father, fail to realize is that your actions, even the slightest ones, have consequences Inuyasha."

"Your point would be?"

She looked at the silver haired boy beside her. "That if you want Kagome to continue to look at you like a raving beast then continue what ye are doing, but if ye happen to not like that, I suggest you start caring."

Kayede pushed the door open and looked at the boy before her. "A common misconception that the gods of this school often make, I have seen it a million times over, that they deserve what they have been granted. Well, what ye have been granted is gone, everything Inuyasha and until ye learn to be a decent human being, very similar to the one that ye have been for the past couple of weeks, my advise to you is the same as what I said before, start giving a damn."

The very tired principal stepped out of the car and headed back inside the large building. Inuyasha watched her leave. He turned on the car and headed out the lot, not wanting to deal with the rest of the day.

As he headed down his street he noticed something odd, there were numerous suit cases outside and in his lawn, along with a large black stretch limo in his drive way. As he pulled up he witnessed the driver step out and heave his mother's red and black suit case into the trunk of the limo.

Inuyasha jumped out and grabbed the handle of the bag, entirely confused. "What are you doing?"

The woman looked to be in her late thirties and wore a black suit. "I am carrying the bags to the car sir, as I was instructed to by Mrs. Toshio."

He yanked it out of her hands. "Why the hell would she tell you to do that?"

Suddenly a loud noise was heard from inside. Inuyasha looked over to see his mother stepping out the front door, another suit case in hand, his father closely behind her.

"You can't do this." spoke his father

"You know the rules, and the ban is not restricted to just the present gods, past as well. Considering I am a past supreme goddess I of all people must follow procedure. You know I love you honey, and our boys but this has to be done, you know it as well as I. Please tell Inuyasha and Sesshomaru that I love them and that I can't wait till this is all over."

"Mom?" His mother and father immediately spun around to see their youngest son staring at them in disbelief. "Mom? Dad? What's going on?"

His mother's eyes shifted to her husband, her suit cases and finally her sons questioning gaze. "As I'm sure you know, the ban has been place Inuyasha and well, your father was the supreme god back in his time and as rules dictate, I must leave for the time being."

"You're, you're leaving?" Inuyasha was totally confused

"Only for a small bit, I'm sure everything will work out honey. I'm staying at the Broadmore Hotel Suite for now, and you can visit me any time you would like. The maids will be accompanying me, considering their all woman, but please honey, if you or your brother ever need to talk, come by." With that she leaned over and kissed her son on the forehead and gave him a reassuring smile.

Grabbing her bag she handed it to the driver and slid into the limo. Both Inuyasha and his father watched in disbelief and astonishment as she rounded the corner without another word.

Once around the block Mrs. Toshio picked up her cell phone and dialed Kagome's number, which was immediately answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello Kagome, it's me."

"Oh…"

"I did it, I' in the limo now. You should have seen their faces, utter bewilderment."

"Mrs. Toshio-"

"Don't even consider backing out. You get what you give Kagome and I think it's time my boys learned that, and their father could stand to relearn it as well, besides, I'm only a dial away."

"You really think this will help?"

"Why are you asking me that Kagome, you know it will."

"Yes, I do, it just seems so harsh."

"Please, me leaving is only going to phase Inuyasha, he knows I love him and that I'll come back. What is going to help is him helping himself."

"I do have to admit, just thinking about how he is going to function without anyone helping him is going to be hysterical in itself; I don't think he's ever worked an oven before."

Mrs. Toshio giggled. "Yes, this will be amusing, I'm going to enjoy telling you everything he tells me."

Kagome smiled. "Yes, this will be entertaining, and hopefully the old Inuyasha will come back, along with some friends."

"Oh, I have no doubt this will work Kagome, by the way, did you make sure to be mad at him today?"

"Of course, not that it was that hard considering how furious at him I am, though, I did spice it up a bit." Their was an underlying tone of sadness in her voice but Mrs. Toshio already knew it was not wise to rile Kagome up.

"Good girl, now my concern is Kouga and Miroku."

"Oh," Kagome laughed, "I wouldn't worry about them."

"Why is that?"

"I've already talked to their mothers and well, they will be joining Inuyasha and Sesshomaru for a while."

"You're telling me their parents are going to have them stay with my boys, in the womanless house where they have to learn survive on their own?"

"What do you know, parents really do have a use."

"How did you do that?"

"Turns out your not the only mother whose concerned about her children."

"So how are they going to do it? What did you tell them?"

"Oh, I left that up to their own devises, and something tells me their going to have fun doing it as well."

The limo stopped and Mrs. Toshio looked outside her window to see the large five star hotel in front of her. "I have to go, call me for updates."

"Alright, goodbye."

"Oh, Kagome one more thing, have I told you you're brilliant today?"

"No, but it's always nice to hear."

Mrs. Toshio smiled as the driver got out opening the door. "You're brilliant."

* * *

Inuyasha sat in his horribly messy room. What the hell had just happened? His mother was taking a temporary leave of absence, his father was locked away in his study, ok, no surprise there, and every girl in the city was avoiding eye contact with him, his life has gone to hell.

Inuyasha threw the basketball he was holding up in the air and caught it with one hand. Sitting up he re-evaluated his situation. Hell, he was the supreme god of Mt. Olympus High School, he could survive this, no big deal. Damn, if he could survive Christmas with his family this was going to be nothing.

* * *

Miroku pulled into his driveway and turning off the car, he grabbed his cell and walked inside. As he was in the middle of texting Inuyasha he looked up to see about three suit cases in front of him.He saw his mom walking down the stairs arguing with his father. "No, we need to leave now if we want to make the flight honey."

His father scratched his head. "But…what's with the sudden interest in football? I mean, you all of a sudden wanting to go?"

"Would you prefer we not? And here I was thinking you would like this anniversary present. If you want I'm sure I could return them." spoke his mother

His fathers face went pale as he immediately shook his head furiously. "Hell no, I mean, that's not necessary honey."

"Uh, mom?"

His mother immediately turned around to look at Miroku. "Oh honey! I'm glad your home, could you help your father carry the bags out to the car? Thank you sweetie." She turned around and walked into the kitchen mumbling something about air plane food.

He turned to his father. "Dad?"

"Your mom surprised me with tickets to the Super Bowl next week as an anniversary gift. Have to say, I had no clue."

"Just like that? Out of the blue?"

"Ya, and since it's out of state we'll be flying their too. Apparently she felt like getting me a really good present this year, and man, I'm looking forward to this. Rosette and Emma, the maids, are going to be at their families this week anyway so your mom's taking full advantage. We're also staying a few extra days there too, she's always loved the city. You know your mom, when she wants something she wants it then and there."

Well that was definitely true, in that sense his mother reminded him of Sango. He turned to his mother who had just walked out of the kitchen with a bag of chips. "So I get this whole place to myself?"

"I guess if you really want, but I figured you'd prefer Inuyasha's."

"Inuyasha's? Hell yea I'd prefer that, parties every night…" he stopped himself as he looked at his mother, "which we will prevent and we will only conduct ourselves in a responsible manner."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, I figured if we were getting a vacation you should too. Now go pack honey."

* * *

Kouga watched as his mother looked around the kitchen with calculating eyes. She walked over to the plate in the glass cabinet and moved it a few inches to the left. She walked back over to the other side of the room and stared at it again. Tilting her head she walked back over and moved it a few inches to the right, pretty much back where it had been previously. Walking back to the far off spot she tilted her head again, sighing. She took a few steps forward till her son stopped her.

"Um, mom, what are you doing?"

She picked up the plate again. "I'm deciding on the proper place of this plate." She placed it a few inches to the left again.

"Why?"

"Well, if anyone should break in while I'm gone I would like the house to at least look nice."

"Oh, that's realistic, that's really what they're going to be looking at, wait, did you say gone?"

"Yes, your father has some big business meeting about seven towns over and needs all the help he can manage, and considering I do a lot of the financial work I have to go as well."

"So, I'm totally going to have the place to crash all to myself?"

"Oh no, I called Mrs. Flem and-"

"Who? You have to be kidding me, she's old, and smelly, and senile, and crazy…she's a total nut, she talks to her cats. I'm old enough to watch myself."

"I know you are, you're just not mature enough."

"There is no way I'm staying with that old hag."

"Hey, if you can find someone better than fine."

Kouga thought for a moment. "Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's."

"No."

"Come on."

Suddenly his father walked through the door, brief case in hand. "Hey, what are you two debating about?"

"Where I'm going to be staying, dad, she called Mrs. Flem!"

"Mrs. Flem? The smelly crazy cat lady?" asked his dad skeptically

"Same one."

His father turned to his mother. "Come on, that's just cold."

"You know as well as I do the chaos that would arise if he was by himself."

"We don't know that, how about we give him a chance, he can stay at Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's and in that time he has to prove himself. That work?"

Mother and son looked at each other, the mother was the first to cave. "Alright, until we get back ok? Go pack, I guess, you too dear."

The two males headed upstairs, neither one seeing the smile teasing the red lips of the woman they left to finish cleaning or her whispered words. "As if I'd really call Mrs. Flem, even I'm not that mean."

* * *

Inuyasha was sitting in the main hall watching TV when his older brother stepped into the room. Inuyasha's lazy form that was draped over the couch somehow managed to glance away from the florescent big screen. "And?"

Sesshomaru lazily sat down on the lazy boy recliner. "Not one girl will pick up the phone, even when a mother answers they get quite like it was some mistake not to check the caller id."

"I don't believe this, what the hell are we suppose to do for fun? Come on, your supposed to be Knowledge are you not?"

"I'm Knowledge, not you personal servant mutt face."

Inuyasha looked at the screen but his brother perked up his ears when he heard him mumble something. "I bet Wisdom could do it."

Sesshomaru was about to slice Inuyasha in half when the doorbell rang. The two looked at each other. The doorbell rang again, and again. Suddenly their fathers booming voice rang through the halls, "Some body better get that or somebody's going to be out of a job!"

…The doorbell rang again…

Seriously, why wasn't somebody opening the damn door? Inuyasha continued to look towards the direction of the door as if somebody was going to answer it…shit, no one was here!

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru looked at each other simultaneously. "You get it." they said at the same time, "No, you"

They both frowned, Inuyasha was the first to speak. "You were up last."

"Which is why you should get it."

"I'm the Supreme God."

"According to the women of this town, that doesn't hold much, besides, I'm laying down." Sesshomaru reached over and flipped Inuyasha off the couch, taking his spot. "And you're standing."

Inuyasha was about to reclaim his throne when the doorbell went off again. "Damit, shit the fuck up, I'm coming!"

Inuyasha walked over to the door and opened it to see Miroku staring at him, suit case in hand. "Dude, what's wrong with your door? By the way, I'm crashing here for a bit."

Miroku put his suit case down and looked around. "Hell, where are the people who magically appear and take my stuff whenever I do this?"

"Long story." Inuyasha sighed

The doorbell rang again. The two just stared at it. It rang again. Suddenly Sesshomaru came marching down the hall, furious that he was forced to do something. He stopped when he saw Miroku standing there. The three looked at each other at a standstill. The doorbell went off again. Waking them up out of their trance Sesshomaru reached over and pulled open the door to see Kouga looking at them.

Inuyasha's loft eye brow went up. "You crashing here too?"

"Hey, dog turd learned how to speak."

"Shut up you pansy."

Kouga threw his bags onto the floor, he looked back over at his bags. "Why are they still there?"

Sesshomaru shook his head and looked over to the TV room. "Long story."

Miroku and Kouga looked over at each other, Miroku spoke breaking the silence. "Something tells me I'm not going to like this story."

* * *

Firevixen73-Hey everyone, hope your all happy the display case finally came into the story, it's been placed! Also, Kagome is mad at Inuyasha but the idea of punishing him, yet helping him, is what is helping her keep a cool head. Trust me, she's mad, and it's more of the idea of punishing than the saving. I think that's it, anything else, write.

Thank you all my reviewers you are all so wonderful, and you should all know that. It's my reviewers who keep my stories going! So feel proud, stand strong and keep reviewing! To everyone else who doesn't review, you want to, you want to. Do you want to yet? Please do!


	14. Trials with a Possessed Kitchen

Kagome looked across the table at her little brother who was currently at war with the broccoli on his plate. She sighed as she saw him continue to stare at it menacingly as if it would disintegrate before him. "Just eat it."

"No, it's a grows substance that never should have been created." he continued to glare holes into the plate

"Souta, it's not just going to disappear, you are going to have to finish it, you haven't eaten any greens all day."

Kagome watched as he poked the green food with his fork. "You don't know that, it could randomly combust, and who needs vetchtables anyways?"

Kagome soon decided that there was only one way he was going to eat the broccoli, she quickly sat up and walked over to the cabinet, pulled out a large bowl and a spoon. She placed them down on the table and walked over to the fridge. When she turned back around, closing both doors with her foot: she held in her hand ice cream, whip cream, chocolate and strawberry syrup. Grabbing a banana from the stand she placed everything down in front of her, and more importantly, Souta.

She discretely watched as his noise tilted upwards and his eyes shifted from sweet to sweet. "Watcha doin'?"

She smiled as she cut the banana in two. "Making desert." she didn't look up once, when she was done she placed the whip cream on top, remembering to lick her fluffy white sugar covered fingers longingly. She saw him lick his lips out of the corner of her eye.

"You going to eat all that?" he sounded eager, good.

She smiled again, licking her fingers again from the strawberry sauce. "Yup, all because I finished my dinner."

He slumped down in his chair. "You're cold, you know that?"

She lifted her spoon and scooped a large piece of ice cream into her mouth. "As is this ice cream."

"Do you live to torment me?"

She made a groaning sound, "Mmmm, I love strawberry."

"Grrr," Souta sat up and marched over to the microwave and tossed his plate in, starting the timer for 30 seconds. "I hope you're happy."

She finally lifted her gaze, "I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

Inuyasha stared at the contraption before him. He gazed deeper completely mesmerized. "So how does this thing work?" 

"Hell, why are you asking me? It's a woman's job to be in the kitchen and a man's to…well…sit and eat whatever they bring them." Kouga continued to look at the small medal box before him.

Miroku, desperately trying to break the silence, made a drastic move and pressed one of the buttons. Immediately the metal thing turned on, with it making a small humming noise and a somewhat bright light which came from inside it. The three boys surrounding it instantly jumped, or flew, backwards.

Inuyasha peered over from the counter at the contraption, the only thing visible past the counter were his fingers, which tightly clung to the counter, and the top of his head, leaving only his eyes visible to look over. Next to him was Miroku who held a pan in his hand, ready to attack should the machine make any sudden movements. Kouga had managed his way over to the other medal box, which was uncommonly large. Inuyasha looked over at Miroku, "What the hell did you do?" he asked ferociously

"I don't know, you know me, I've never been able to keep my hand to myself, blame my family curse," he wined out.

Kouga gave Miroku a glare, "You know, I suddenly realize why Sango hits you."

Miroku gulped, "Would someone please just explain why Inuyasha's father can't figure this out, and not us?"

"Because either we do this or we're all sleeping outside."

The three immediately turned around to see Sesshomaru standing in the door way. Inuyasha was the first to respond, after his heart went back down to its normal rate that is. "What the hell is your problem Sesshomaru? I fucking thought one of these blasted machines was alive or something."

"You've seen a few too many horror flicks then," his elder brother smirked at what he obviously deemed as his younger brother's stupidity.

"Bastard."

"Mutt."

"Ahhhh! It's got me, it's got me, help!"

Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku all turned around to see Kouga having an all out battle with the large metal object he had earlier jumped towards. Inuyasha and Miroku both ran over and pulled the squealing man away from the beast which had snagged a piece of Kouga's shirt.

Kouga grabbed his chest as his labored breath slowly became an even pace. "This place is cursed or something."

Suddenly the timer on the microwave went off, leaving a distinct chime echoing through the room. At the sound all four boys jumped, coincidently Kouga went strait back towards the previously encountered object. His back hit the object causing a large metal door to come falling down on top of him, knocking Kouga to the ground. "We're under attack, we're under attack!"

Miroku shivered. "God, it has a mouth. Oh hell, I know this thing, this is what ate those two kids Hansel and Gretel," he immediately ducked behind Inuyasha "this is how we're going to die isn't it?"

Inuyasha stood up causing Miroku to fall flat on the floor and on his face. He silently tip towed over to the smaller metal box and looked at it closer. "You know, when I was younger I think I remember seeing Kagome use on of these before. She said that it would heat things up fast, give me something."

Kouga stood up, carefully avoiding the open mouth of the oven and tossed Inuyasha a whisk. Inuyasha's eye twitched. "A piece of food you dumb wolf!"

Sesshomaru walked over to a door and opened it to pull out a pack of hamburger buns. He undid the casing and tossed Inuyasha one. Placing it, Inuyasha pressed a few buttons and closed the microwave, finally pressing the start button. With that it started up again. Inuyasha smirked, "See nothing to it. This whole living without women thing isn't so hard. Hell, if I had to guess the goddesses will probably realize how stupid this decision is and will forget the whole thing."

"Maybe you're right, we have nothing to worry about." said Miroku reassuringly

Inuyasha turned back around and looked at his bread roll; the four boys soon found themselves staring at the object before them, as it continued to heat. Suddenly, as if the bun sensed their desperation and enjoyed their torment, right before their eyes the bun burst into flames, extinguishing all former hope.

"The house is on fire, the house is on fire!" yelled Miroku, he immediately ran over and grabbed a cup and filled it with water from the faucet. Running back over he splashed the water over the machine. The fire was not out, in fact, the water had been reflected off the microwave and right onto the four surrounding gods.

He looked at his fellow comrades, "Oopps?"

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open murderously, "Miroku, before you do that again, try opening the damn door."

* * *

"So can I have my desert now?" asked Souta as he pushed his empty plate forward 

Kagome eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you still hungry?"

"Yes! I have just enough room for desert," answered the naïve little boy.

"Well, if you're still hungry then I guess you can just have some more broccoli and we'll see how you feel after that." She reached over the table and scooped another spoon full of the green substance onto his plate, leaving a rather annoyed boy left to stare at her in disbelief.

* * *

"So what do you think this thing does?" asked Miroku as he pointed to the large metal object which had previously tried to devour his friend. "You know, besides eat people and attack Kouga randomly." 

Everyone swung their heads towards Sesshomaru, supposedly the god of knowledge. "Why are your pathetic excuses for brains having you direct your attention toward me?" asked Sesshomaru

Inuyasha was getting annoyed and hungry, that was never a good combination. "You're the damn god of knowledge, fucking use it you bastard!"

Sesshomaru glared at his younger sibling. "Contrary to what you may believe Inuyasha, I do not posses the knowledge of the world." Sesshomaru's eyes went wide at his statement. Had he just said that? That was impossible, he knew everything, he was superior to everything and everyone. That had always been a personal philosophy of life, yet, he just stated out loud the very opposite.

"Bet Wisdom could do it," he heard Inuyasha growl.

"Then why don't you call her?" said Sesshomaru defensively. The room was hit with a sudden silence, captivating the room in Sesshomaru's personal battle raging within his body.

Kouga, slightly taken back by the awkward predicament swirling within the room took a slight step back wards, resting his palms on the top of the large box. As he sat there, contemplating the same thing Sesshomaru was dealing with, his hand slipped off the counter and giving him a live interview with the hardwood floor. "Shit! Why is this happening to me?"

He looked up to see three curious and slightly amused faces staring directly at him. "What? It's not like I'm meaning to do all this!"

He reached back up to the counter but Miroku walked over and helped his friend back on two feet before Kouga could continue his personal struggle. Miroku, pulling up Kouga with one hand and supporting himself with the other immediately jumped away as he felt something burning his skin.

Yelping as he instantly jumped back a couple of feet, leaving Kouga to once again meet up with the floor, he stared at his hand. It was slightly red, as if it had just been burned. Looking back over to the counter he saw that it wasn't a counter at all, but now possessed a small fire protruding from one of the metal circles. He had been burned.

Dragging himself over to the sink he put it on cold water and let the fluid wash over his hand till his skin reached its normal temperature. He looked back over to Kouga who was currently rubbing his neck, trying to relieve some of the day's building tension. "You know, this is ridiculous, there is no way any one room is this evil, do you think the girls are behind this one? Maybe they are in the back smiling, knowing all that they are putting us through. Hell, maybe this whole kitchen is rigged."

"Right, that's it Kouga. Do us a favor and stick to sport." Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he looked over at his friends. "Ok, considering the fire coming out of this thing, if I remember correctly, this is a stove, and the other one is a microwave, the one below, which attacked you, is an oven. I remember once, when Kagome and I were younger and at her house, we were watching a movie and…damn, I can't remember what she did! Sesshomaru, Miroku you were there, think, it was back in fifth grade, Sesshomaru you were in sixth."

Inuyasha could see the two trying to remember, it had something to do with kernels, was it corn? That's right, popcorn! He snapped his fingers indicating to his fellow comrades his victory. "Popcorn!"

Sesshomaru's eyes lit up. "Right, get a pan or something, Kouga go look in that back room for a bag of popcorn cornels…" Kouga didn't move, "it will say popcorn kernels."

Kouga nodded his head and moved to the back room searching the pantry for the uncooked popcorn. Inuyasha walked over and grabbed what he remembered to be a pan and placed it on the fire. Soon, Kouga came back around the door frame, arms full. He dropped a large bag into Sesshomaru's hands that read, 'Popcorn kernels'. Inuyasha, grabbing the unopened bag and tore it open leaving hundreds of unnoticed kernels to decorate the floor. Rushing over he poured the remainder of the bag in. The four boys watched, anticipating something, anything.

Nothing happened.

"Um…something is wrong, Kagome did something else," said Miroku as he peered over the large dish.

"Your right, she probably had more kernels, do we have anymore kernels Kouga?"

"Well, we do have these," he revealed six microwavable popcorn bags. Sesshomaru reached over and slashed the first one open; out poured half the bag of kernels once again onto the floor. The four gods looked at each other once again. Together they opened up the bags and poured each of the contents into the pan, until it was at least halfway full of kernels. They once again peered over; watching, waiting, for anything.

Nothing happened.

"I really thing Kagome did something else," said Miroku once again.

"Didn't she add butter?" Sesshomaru looked around and walked over to the fridge, deciding this would be the best place to look. After about a minute's worth of searching he finally pulled out a box of butter sticks. Opening it up he pulled out four unopened and sealed sticks. "Butter, that was it."

Opening one of them up and throwing the paper casing on the ground he walked over and dropped the stick into the pan. They sat and watched, hoping, praying.

Nothing happened.

"What the hell is wrong with this thing? I say we trash it, I'm sure we've got some shovels in the back," yelled Inuyasha as his anger grew tenfold.

"I know we're forgetting to do something Inuyasha…I-" but Miroku was cut off at the sound of something, something popping. The four looked over to see one of their very own kernels changing into something great, something they had done, something eatable. They watched as it piece by piece transformed into a white fluffy piece of popcorn, right before their very eyes.

Then another thing happed as another popped into a delicious white treat. They immediately turned around and high fived each other at their accomplishment. See, this wasn't so hard…famous last words.

Inuyasha suddenly felt something hard hit a tiny spot on his back, it kind of felt like a little bullet. Seeing Kouga was the closest to him he immediately hit the wolf in the arm. Kouga grabbed his arm. "Hell, what was that for? And do you have to hit the same spot that Ayame did? She may not look it but she's strong."

"Well what you did wasn't exactly pleasant," replied Inuyasha.

Suddenly Kouga too felt the small bullet like feeling coursing through his back muscles, soon another, and then another. Knowing it couldn't have been Inuyasha, for he was standing in front of him arms down, he turned and faced Miroku. "What the hell was that for?"

"What the hell was what for?" asked Miroku, as he turned to face his friends, suddenly Miroku felt a stinging pain hit his neck. It was brief, but enough to get his attention. "Oww," he slapped his neck, thinking maybe it was a bug.

"What are you three idiots doing now?" asked Sesshomaru as he walked over to Supreme, Jest and Sport. While they had been high fiving each other like the primitive animals they were he went to check the fridge for anything else they could eat. Suddenly he felt something hit his left cheek. It stung, brief, but enough to piss him off.

Reaching down to the floor his picked up the object he had trailed down to his feet. Standing back up he placed the small slightly slippery object between two of his fingers, determined to inspect it further. Holding it up into the light he realized he was holding a popcorn kernel in his hands. His eye's shifted to his surrounding fellow gods, together their gazed moved towards the bowl of kernels which was shaking slightly.

Kneeling closer they eyed their formerly announced success suspiciously. Individually they watched as the kernels seemed to vibrate, as they started to shake harder, and harder till they suddenly stopped, standing completely still. Inuyasha raised his eye brow at the dish of uncooked corn before him. What was going on?

Then it happened, the hundreds of kernels which had previously been silent burst into action. The four immediately ducked as the kernels, cooked and uncooked, fired themselves around the room, attacking everything in sight. Inuyasha tried to stand up but was immediately pelted in the side with the tiny projectile. Not moving fast enough he found himself hit again near the same spot. He grabbed his side trying to ease the pain but found he was being hit in to many places. Trying to cover himself from the destructive little capsules he dropped to the floor, rubbing his arms, trying to ease the sting.

Looking up he saw Kouga trying to block the shells while yelling profanities each time he was hit. "Shit", "Fuck", "Bastard", radiated through the room, molding with the overwhelming sound of the popping noise of the popcorn. Out of no where he heard a loud and distinct humming sound. Covering his head, so as not to be knocked out, he turned to see Miroku cowering in the corner by the microwave trying not to get hit. Falling backwards on the kernels decorating the floor, he had accidentally pressed the on button.

"Mother fucker!" he heard from Kouga's direction, he turned again to see Kouga covering his face, randomly running into objects just to move his arms again to cover himself from the merciless attacks.

Deciding this had to end he turned around in attempt to knock the dish over but immediately pulled back when his hand was attacked by flying popcorn. Finally mustering up the courage to try again he stood up and tried to move forward, but found himself falling flat on his face due to the hundreds of kernels they had paid no attention to while opening the bags. He tried to stand up again only to have his feet slide a bit only to fly out from under him.

Turning to his brother for any form of support he could muster, he saw a sight he would never forget. Sesshomaru, desperately trying to reach the pan as well, stepped on the paper wrap for the butter he had previously thrown on the floor, while he was trying to dodge a group of kamikaze kernels. Inuyasha watched as his older brother wide eyed slid halfway across the room on the two inch wide scrap of a piece of paper, only to loose balance and land flat on his ass with a loud thump. Inuyasha watched as the god of Knowledge reached for the nearest object for stability and support. Inuyasha watched as the nearest object was the radio volume knob which was turned to full blast as Sesshomaru once again fell to the floor, a complete and utter wreck. Inuyasha watched as the elegant, always perfect, superior above all older brother of his, hair started to vibrate from the pounding sound of the music. Inuyasha tried not to laugh. He really did, but a guy can only take so much.

Even as he saw his brothers legendary death glare thrown his way with more malice than he had ever seen mustered, he found himself withering in pain on the floor because he was laughing so hard.

"Damn ass pieces of shit!" he heard Kouga yell

"Why is everything attacking me?" he heard Miroku shout

He heard another thumping sound come from Sesshomaru's direction.

God, he couldn't stop! He ducked again as he saw another group of kernels come flying at his direction. Deciding the only way they were getting out of this was if they retreated he took a large breath and yelled. "We're fucking retreating, this place is possessed!"

Jumping up back on his feet, and desperately trying to ignore the pelting sensations hitting him, frantically trying to pass up Miroku who was 'ingeniously' trying to smack the kernels way, he skidded over to the swinging door, grabbing Miroku's collar in the process, dragging him outside.

Falling to the ground panting the two gods looked at each other in desperation, for once they truly, honestly and deeply found themselves missing women. Finally managing to stand up, shakily, they grabbed the nearest object for support and stared. Inuyasha turned around when he heard a slight chuckle. Seeing Miroku standing there with a huge grin on his face trying to contain his laughter was too much. Inuyasha once again found himself laughing at their predicament, which really wasn't something to laugh about.

But the harder Miroku laughed, the harder he did.

Out of no where two figures came tumbling out of the doorway, literally. Kouga landed first, panting and out of breath, soon followed by Sesshomaru, whose hair was ratty and out of place and with a look suggesting he had just faced the devil himself. Tumbling through the door Sesshomaru, very unsophisticated like, fell on top of Kouga, smashing the poor wolf with an 'oomph'.

"Remind me to kill the goddesses when we figure out who they are," said Sesshomaru as he stood up to face an ear to ear smiling Inuyasha. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," said Inuyasha mockingly

"Shut up Inuyasha," he growled

"Are you kidding me?" he grinned back

"God, the one time you have to be calm,"

"Calm about what?" asked Miroku

"Ya? I mean I'm all for the mutt never talking again but what did he do?" asked Kouga as he pushed himself off the floor.

"_I_ didn't do anything." said Inuyasha wickedly

"Why father didn't stop at me will forever be a mystery. Now hurry, we are going to have to search the house for a take out number or something, I don't care if we have to tear this place down, I am _not_ going back in there."

Inuyasha watched as his brother tried to change the subject. "Whatever, as long as it's greasy and preferably with lot's of butter." He dodged as his brother took a swing in his direction but missed the second uppercut heading his way. He grabbed his chin as soon as the confrontation was over. "What the hell was that for bastard?"

"What, your reflexes not fast enough? Second born, second best," mocked Sesshomaru

"Said the man who can't even walk strait!"

Kouga looked at Miroku, "Got a feeling we missed something?"

"You got that notion too?" answered Miroku

"I'm not entirely sure I want to know what it is."

"With you on that one, hey, I remembered what we forgot…we forgot a lid."

If Miroku hadn't of looked so proud of himself, Kouga would have hit him.

* * *

Mrs. Toshio sat on her king sized bed as she thought about her family. Her husband, yes, wasn't the same self centered, egotistical womanizing ass he had been in high school, but that didn't mean he was perfect either. He still sometimes treated her as an inferior, no matter how much she loved him, and still managed to pass that on to her sons. She knew that the block wasn't just to save her boys, no, it was also to save their father.

She would love her husband till she took her last breath, but, there was only so much a woman could take. It was a shame too, there were, contrary to popular belief, many great men out there and she knew her family fell under that category…when they thought no one was watching.

Hopefully they were getting along ok. She laughed of the thought of them in the kitchen, probably didn't even know what a microwave was, there father only had the slightest inkling as to what it was himself, she had always been there to help him.

She gave out a small giggle.

It probably hadn't even crossed their minds to call in a male chef.

* * *

Kagome laid cross legged across her bed, hoping beyond hope something would come to her, but, she was just to damn angry!

Ok, she had moved past the denial stage, past the eating your heart out stage and had just recently passed the grieving stage, now, now she was just fucking pissed!

Who the hell did Inuyasha think he was? Stupid fucking free ass will. He just had to go and be him, god, was the world against her? No, not the world, just men. She did not have time for this, there were way to many things to do.

First she had to finish the layout for the sample pages of the yearbook the newspaper staff was printing, then she had the statewide track meet to plan, then plan yearbook's involvement, then she had Souta's birthday party to plan, now she had to worry about the narcissistic gods who obviously don't give a damn? Why her?

Kagome flipped over on her back and bit down on the tip of her pencil. She needed to get away, or better yet, find a job where men weren't in any way associated. Where she would be free to worry about her own problems and not the worlds, like a nun. That's it, she would become a nun, they didn't deal with men, hell, they weren't even allowed to get married. Good bye Inuyasha. Ok, ya, they tried to help the world and all, but it wasn't like they _had_ to. Sango would undoubtedly join, and Ayame, boy crazy that she is, after this week Kagome was pretty sure she'd be ok with it. Rin, hell, that wouldn't really be all that big of change for the girl, and she'd have plenty of time to read.

But then again, they would have get up dawn and anyone who knew Kagome knew she preferred nine in the morning to five in the morning any day. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Stupid dumb ass Inuyasha forcing her to make delusional decisions.

It was all his fault, maybe if he wasn't such an arrogant bastard who wouldn't accept a walking stick if he was blind, would probably rather sniff his way around then accept any form of assistance, she wouldn't be so crazy.

Stupid Inuyasha for making her crazy. She was going to kick his ass next time she saw him, probably get put in the loony bin for that one. Hey, there was an idea. Sango would go for it, Ayame too, wasn't too different from Rin's life right now. Maybe she should think about this one.

* * *

Mrs. Toshio sighed as she talked on the phone. The person was obviously past the denying stage, past the indulging stage, past the grief stricken stage, and onto pure unadulterated anger. "Honey, you are seriously going to have to get past this if you ever want me to come back home."

Her husband's voice bellowed from the other end. "I can't even trust my own wife any more? She's sneaking behind my back? What happened to our marriage vows? Till death do us part?"

She could feel herself getting frustrated. "That changed when you started caring more about work then your own family, what is Inuyasha's favorite restaurant? What is Sesshomaru's favorite sport? You know, the goddesses asked me for my input before they placed the block on and it wasn't just for your sons but for you as well. Maybe it's time you shaped up, you need this as much as they do, and I swear if I don't find you changed at all by the time this ban is lifted I will convince them to place it on again!"

The woman immediately slammed the phone back down on the receiver, full of rage. She could feel it, with each word he said she had gotten angrier and angrier. Then, as she had started to talk she became even more angry with the realization of what she was saying; those were feelings she had bottled up for years now and hopefully they had made an imprint in her husbands mind.

And if it didn't, well, she could either beat a new one into him or have Kagome do it. She wasn't sure which one at the moment sounded more enticing. Speaking of Kagome, maybe she should give that girl a call.

* * *

Mr. Toshio stared at the phone in his hand. He blinked once, mouth still open. His eyes found themselves squinting at the defiant object before them. He leaned in closer for inspection.

Had, had she just hung up on him?

…That wench did! Oh he was going to curse her to hell when he got a hold of her; no one did that to him. Especially his wife!

"Um…dad? You in there?"

He looked up to see his youngest son Inuyasha peaking in through the cracked doorway. He suppressed a growl; he still wasn't over the defiance of his wife. "Not now Inuyasha, I have to tell off your mother."

Mr. Toshio slammed the phone back down on the receiver and started to dial a couple of numbers.

"Well, we um, tried to make some dinner, and well, that didn't work out very well, so, um, do you have any fast food numbers? We'd take the car but mom changed the garage access code before she left, we can't get them out of the garage," Inuyasha looked at his father, wondering if he even heard what he had said, he'd never seen his dad this mad before.

Mr. Toshio continued to tap his fingers on the mahogany desk, he suddenly stopped. "Connect me to room 802 now!"

Inuyasha could make the faintest sound of a woman's voice on the other end, obviously terrified. "Umm, yes sir, right away sir, just one second sir-"

"I said now wench!"

Inuyasha waited as the phone rang, and rang, and rang a bit more, then a sweet, "Hello?"

"How dare you hang up on me, I wasn't done with you ye-" yelled his father into the receiver but was immediately cut off by the deafening sound of the ring tone.

He watched as his father, the man who never let anyone get under his skin, the all powerful man who single handedly started his own company in a garage and turned it into a multimillion dollar corporation, get hung up on by his wife. Inuyasha tried not to stare in disbelief, really, he did.

The vein on his father's forehead seemed to have a mind of it's own by the way it was pulsing. Maybe he should leave?

Inuyasha watched as his father dialed again, only to have the same woman answer the front desk. Poor girl. "802 NOW!"

Inuyasha could have sworn the whole house shook.

"Hello? Do you think you could hold, I'm on the other line?" said his mothers voice

"No damit, I will not hold, now we have a conversation to finish wench!"

"Oh…it's you. What do you want?"

"What the hell do I want? You fucking hung up on me, _my_ wife does not hang up on me!"

"Maybe you have the wrong number then, you're trying to reach submissive and obedient without cause, they're two floors down!" he heard his mother argue back.

"You get back here right now and get the goddesses to lift this ban! I know you have the influence to do that."

"Why would I do that when I was the one who had to convince Supreme to do it in the first place? Do you have any idea how miserable the god's have made her in the past three years? If anything they should have done this years ago, before the god's even knew they existed. Now, if you don't mind I have a conversation with Supreme to finish!"

The dial tone went dead again, only this time Inuyasha's father didn't dial back, he didn't slam the phone into the receiver, he didn't even look up to face Inuyasha. He just sat there, shoulders hunched, eye's downcast, body limp.

"Dad?"

Inuyasha saw his father sigh and lift his head towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha watched as his father looked of defeat, that was the word, defeat. His father was giving up, something he had never seen before. "What is it, son?"

His voice was cracking, in all his 17 years he had never heard his father's voice crack. Everything the other god's had urged him to say was gone, everything they had voted on Inuyasha asking, it no longer existed. All that did was Inuyasha and the broken man before him.

"You still love her, don't you?" It wasn't a statement, it wasn't even a reassurance, it was an honest to god question. Inuyasha didn't know.

"Yes, with all my being. But this whole ban thing is bringing up things I never wanted to feel again and the worst part of it is, I know she's right. I want to be mad at her but I can't be, because I know the only person I can be mad at is myself. In all honesty Inuyasha, I don't know what to do."

"I get it dad, really. I feel the same way with the goddesses. I want to be mad at them, I really do, when I think of everything that's happening, but, I know it's not their fault. Kayede pointed that out to me, they didn't even want to do this but we made them. But, I know if I'm not mad at them then the only person left to blame it on would be myself."

Mr. Toshio truly looked at his son for the first time in a long time. He didn't see a boy, no, he saw a young man. He had missed his son's life, there were things he was never going to know, didn't have the right to know. He had missed so many years; his son was a man now. "Inuyasha, what do you say we go re-look for those numbers? I'll help you guys out."

Inuyasha looked at his father, watched as he got out of his chair and walked towards him. Not only had he just talked with his dad in not only the longest conversation they had had in years, but also the most meaningful and now he was going to help search the house? "Um, ya, ok…dad."

"After that, we'll try some combinations for the garage, maybe we can figure something out."

Inuyasha was shocked as his father took his shoulder and led him out the door. Maybe this whole block thing wasn't a total hell hole. Hey, maybe tomorrow he could find the time to visit Kagome, she would probably be happy to see him. I mean really, how long can one girl stay mad?

* * *

Firevixen73- I know I know, and I'm sorry for the late update! Life just doesn't understand the importance of fanfics, it just made this chapter harder to write but I think it's still good. I hope it's still good. I'd say I made this chapter longer but I don't think I did, so, ya, still sorry. And I know there wasn't any god/goddess interaction but there will be in the next one, promise. Please review, I promise it does help me work faster. Actually it was a the reviews that helped me right this, every once and a while I would get a few asking me to update, so for everyone who did that you should be proud, who knows how long this chapter would have taken without my reviewers. Thank you to all my loyal readers out there! 


	15. Can I forgive you?

Firevixen73-**Thank you **to all my reviewers! You make me so happy, especially the really long ones, they are always fun to read. So from what I could gather everyone liked the last chapter. My favorite lines were 'how long can a girl stay mad' and 'not now Inuyasha I have to tell of your mother'. I had so much fun writing those. And a big thank you to **Dixy-Angel** for helping me out with Hitomi's name, I still can't believe you looked it up, that is total dedication! And I totally love you for it! So we want to get into Inuyasha's confrontation with Kagome? Alright, here you go!

* * *

Kagome sat in her kitchen looking over the bills in front of her. So much for college, time to dip back into her savings fund, which would be empty if she continued at this rate. Why did she have to have _her_ mother for a mother? Oh that's right, because she was cursed. First it was her dad, then her grandpa, then her mother, and then Inuyasha. She sighed, maybe she could try to get another part time job. Of course, the last ones hadn't worked out to well, mainly because of her clothing and the fact that she had no time. 

She heard footsteps outside of the kitchen and immediately pulled out her books, covering up the bills she was sure would be haunting her in her dreams later that night. The door swung open. "Hey sis!" came a loud call.

Kagome looked up smiling, "Oh, hey Souta, I didn't hear you. What's up?"

"Well, remember what you said about that girl that I liked? Well, I'm going to ask her out today, at the end of practice."

"Practice?" asked his slightly worried older sister, "Um, Souta, we're not having practice today remember?"

She watched as his face dropped. "What?"

"It's supposed to rain today…don't tell me you forgot?"

"But, but she's been dropping by every practice for the last five days with her friends, and I don't know how much longer she'll keep coming. Sis? What am I gonna do?" whined Souta as he slouched in his chair in defeat.

"Well? Wait, that group of girls? You like one of them? Which one?" asked Kagome excitedly

"Stay on topic Kagome!" yelled Souta

"Right, right, focus. Must stay focused…but really which one? How the hell am I supposed to talk embarrassing moments if I don't know who to talk to?" said Kagome pleasantly, her eyes got wide in realization, "Oh, I could just tell all of them. Never mind, problem solved."

"That isn't funny!" he shot up and attempted to stomp out of the room. Key word, attempted.

"I'll tell you what, you tell me which girl it is and I'll call the rest of the team and see what we can do about practicing in the rain. Deal?" said Kagome knowingly.

He turned around with a smile which Kagome could guess wasn't going to be coming off any time soon. Boys, were they all this obsessed? Maybe that's what she needed, a nice obsessed boy who would do anything for her. That really was the problem with men. Women just want someone who is willing to swim past a sea of sharks, through a dangerous maze of poisonous snakes and then find her on her little flouting raft just to give her her favorite drink. Was that so much to ask? I mean, it's not like they actually have to do it, they just have to be _willing_ to. Oh where have all the good men gone?

"So are you going to call them or what sis?" asked Souta.

Kagome finally looked at him accusingly, "What about her name?"

"I already told you," he said matter o'factly.

She placed her hands on her hips, "Then you should have no problem saying it again."

He sighed, "And here I was thinking I finely found a use for your space cadet ways."

"Nice try, now speak servant."

"Her name is…" he whispered the last part, she couldn't hear a word.

"Sorry, couldn't here you, what was that?"

"…"

"Again what?"

"Hitomi! Ok, her name is Hitomi, I like Hitomi!"

A new and unexpected voice came from behind the red faced little boy. "Really? I didn't know that."

Souta immediately spun around to face the new confident. He paled when he saw who is was…Kohaku and Sango stood right behind him. God, he would never live this down. "What…what are um, you two doing here?"

Kohaku smirked, "Teasing you about your little crush." Souta launched himself at Kohaku as the other boy dodged. "I mean, I knew you liked someone just didn't know it was her, but now I gotta name. Souta and Hitomi sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage then comes the-"

"I'm going to kill you if you tell her," radiated over the mocking voice of Kohaku. Awe, how cute.

Sango looked at Kagome with a disapproving parental look. "You could have told him we were there."

Kagome started to laugh, "What? And miss this? I'm thinking not. Besides, he'll never get the courage to ask her on his own, he needs his best friends support, and this is what best friends do best. And Souta really does deserve this. Remember Kohaku's first crush? Now that was a disaster. Souta would not leave your poor brother alone. I don't care how sweet Kohaku is, Souta has had this coming."

Sango shook her head and laughed, "True, so you going to call about a practice?"

"No, I figured they're all pretty worn out, I've been working them hard." Kagome grabbed her books and shut them before Sango could see anything, not that Sango was a snoop, but she would get a long lecture if any of these numbers got out.

"Kagome you said you would call them!"

"And I will, just not for a practice. Today isn't a good day, it's pouring out but tomorrow isn't supposed to be bad. This way, Kohaku can get the teasing out of his system and finally help my idiot brother. This way I have time to set up an open game tomorrow." Kagome picked up the stacks of documents and pushed them into a top cupboard where she knew Souta would never go.

"An open game! That is so sweat! Oh, I'm going to have to take pictures! It's been a while too, I know Kohaku will be glad, tomorrows practice would be a pretty big work out for them," added in Sango.

Suddenly Souta and Kohaku stepped into the room. Souta was grinding his teeth in frustration and Kohaku was smirking, got to love being a kid. Souta, trying to ignore his friend who was making kissing noises looked at his sister. "So, did you call them?"

"I got a better idea kid, how about tomorrow we have an open match?"

Kohaku looked at Souta, Souta looked at Kohaku. They immediately jumped up and high five'd each other mid air, each grinning ear to ear. Souta turned back to his older sister, who at the moment he was loving, "Ya, we haven't had one of those in a while."

"What's an open match, or game, well, whatever it is?"

They turned around to see Shippo standing there with his backpack slouched over his shoulders. Sango scratched her head in guilt, "He begged to come and wanted it to be a surprise. So um, surprise?"

Kagome just laughed as she scooped Shippo into her arms, nuzzling him with her noise. "That's right, your one of the younger ones. An open match or game, whichever you prefer, is when we just play for fun and people from all around the area come and play with us. Of course we make it fair and split up the team equally but it gets everyone watching involved. Usually the girls end up being cheerleaders or something, but some of them do play," she smiled and winked at Souta who in turn blushed, "call it a gut feeling but I somehow know who Souta is going to get paired up with for practice."

Kagome laughed again as Souta got even redder, he looked like a tomato. No, she like cherries better than tomatoes, but strawberries were better than both. Ok, he would be a strawberry. "So you all ready to go to shopping!"

Souta groaned, Kohaku huffed and Shippo hugged Kagome closer. Sango watched the scene and laughed.

* * *

Inuyasha sat in the mall, bored out of his mind. They could only get one car out of the garage and unfortunately, it was Sesshomaru's, so wherever he went, they went. He laid down on the bench, his left foot dangling over the red cushioned seat and his right propped up as his foot rested on the bench as well. This was so utterly boring! No, Sesshomaru just couldn't drop him off at Kagome's. I mean, she had a car! 

He opened his eyes to see a shadow looming over him, he closed his eye's again tiredly. "Need something Miroku?"

"Ya, Sesshomaru found his books."

Inuyasha's eye's snapped open, he immediately sat up. "So we can go? I gotta say, it's no fun being here when the women don't give you free stuff anymore."

Kouga was soon behind him, "Ya, I wasn't too fond of having to pay for our food, but it was real funny with Sesshomaru. You should have seen it, Mr. High and Mighty didn't think it was going to apply to him. Ha, his face visibly paled when the woman asked for money. I swear his color matched his hair!"

Kouga immediately grabbed the back of his head in pain as a bag of large heavy objects smacked him mercilessly. He turned around to see Sesshomaru glaring at him, it was the kind of glare that sent fuzzy woodland creatures running. The wolf boy involuntarily shivered in response.

"Can we go now?" asked, well, more so wined, Miroku.

"Kagome! Why do we have to go in there? It's such a _girly_ store!" whined a voice from behind them.

"Because Sango wanted to go in there, so whine to her," came another extremely familiar voice.

All four gods immediately turned around wondering if their ears were deceiving them. The first thing that caught their eye was a bouncing little boy with bright red hair eating a giant cookie which was easily as big as him, if not bigger. Next came Kagome, dressed in a pair of perfectly fitting hip hugger jeans doing nothing but complimenting her perfectly toned body. She wore a white elbow length shirt which had various gold designs integrated with the fabric. Her ebony black hair hung down in the crunchy curls so many girls spent hours attempting to get.

Right behind her and her two bags came Sango, she too was dressed in hip hugger's only they were Capri's. With them she wore black pumps. She had on a blouse top that was different shades of purple, giving of the sophisticated yet young look. Her hair was up in her own high pony tail but there was a large and seemingly expensive purple butterfly clip wrapped around it. She too held bags, and noticeably more that Kagome.

Next came the two sulking little boys, each trying to look as down cast as possible. "Come on sis! Don't make us go in there!" whined Kohaku, "I mean, if your going to be cruel, don't take it out on pour little Shippo!"

The face from the oversized cookie finally made an appearance. When only his hair was visible over the baked cookie dough, now a face emerged, and it was indeed Shippo. "I don't mind," he stated plainly, soon going back to his healthy meal.

"Traitor," hissed Souta.

Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed her brother's arm, "Oh get over it you two, it's not that bad and you know it. Now the sooner this is over the sooner you can get out." She dragged the squirming boy and pulled him into the pink and black store.

The other boy, Kohaku, eye's drop as he watched his friend, then his own sister. She was tapping her foot impatiently as her arms were crossed. He shook his head as he saw Shippo walk in, "Oh no, you are not getting me to go in there! I'll clean the yard, all do your chores, I'll carry your bags like a good brother but this is where I draw the line."

Her eyebrow arched, he took a step back, she took a step forward. Just as he was about to make a dash for it his uncannily strong sister reached over and grabbed him by the ear, pulling as soon as she had a firm grip. "Owe, owe, that hurts!"

"You're going in," came her big sister voice, she pulled again, leading him by the ear into the very feminine store.

The gods watched them disappear in the store, Miroku was the first to look up and see what it said, though he already knew. He did after all get their catalog. "Why wouldn't they want to go in there?"

Kouga hit him in the shoulder, "I don't know, maybe because it's Victoria Secret?"

Miroku gave another curious look, honest to god not understanding their thinking. "And?"

Ignoring Miroku's perverted ness, Inuyasha immediately got up from the bench and headed in Kagome's direction, disregarding his friends entirely. Miroku, happy beyond belief seemed to skip in after him as soon as he saw where Inuyasha was heading. Kouga sighed and looked around, only to meet Sesshomaru's own curious gaze. "Oh well, we don't have anything better to do anyways."

Sesshomaru half heartedly nodded and followed the previous two in.

* * *

Inuyasha scanned the area looking for Kagome's familiar face. He quickly walked around the store, only to come up with nothing. Finally having enough of his seeming desperate, he jumped up on the nearest counter and scanned the room. He felt a tug on his leg. Looking down, hoping it was one of the five he had just seen he was sorely disappointed to see a sales clerk looking at him disapprovingly. 

"Um, Sir, I am going to have to ask you to get down."

He rolled his eye's, brushing her to the side and once again scanned the room. There was Kouga and Sesshomaru by the door, each trying to act like they didn't want to be there but sneaking glances ever which way, Miroku who was flirting with a few of the women in the double D section, the clerk still annoying the hell out of him, a boy with a giant cookie, a group of women in the back by the…wait, a giant cookie? He looked back over to see that it indeed was Shippo.

Jumping off the counter and going over the annoying woman's head, thoroughly scaring the crap out of her to Inuyasha's joy, he quickly walked over. As soon as he was in arms length he smirked and grabbed the poor boy's treat.

Shippo immediately noticed and glared at his new found oppressor, but his eye's widened considerably as soon as he saw who the fiend was. Of course, this went completely unnoticed by Inuyasha. "Nice snack, I think I'll keep it."

Shippo's eyes narrowed, "I'm a growing boy, I need more food than you do!" The small child lunged but ended up toppling over in the chair an onto his face when Inuyasha moved his arm up higher.

"Well, I'm bigger which mean I'm hungrier!" said Inuyasha back…isn't he mature. With that he bopped Shippo on the head as the child made another dodge.

Shippo sat up furious, "Listen Dog breath, I suggest you get out of here now before Kagome sees you. You can take my cookie but leave, now!"

Inuyasha was dumbfounded, he blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Why should I leave before Kagome sees me? I mean, there is no way the girls are still mad."

Shippo couldn't believe his tiny little ears, had he heard Inuyasha right? Why should Kagome not want to see him? Why did he need to leave? Why…were they really related? Did he not understand that Kagome was furious? That she was so utterly disappointed in Inuyasha and herself that the only way to relive the stress was for a shopping spree?

Shippo had known Kagome for a while, and there were certain stages he knew she went through depending on how bad off she was doing. There was the cleaning stage, the driving around or going for a run stage, then the eating everything in sight stage, the shopping stage and the quiet stage, which usually came hand in hand. Shippo knew Kagome must seriously be torn up inside right now, the last thing she needed was Inuyasha to remind her of everything she came here to forget.

"Inuyasha?"

They both turned around, Inuyasha curiously and Shippo still giving Inuyasha a dirty look, to see Souta standing behind them. He was caring four bags that immediately hit the floor when his and Inuyasha's gaze met. The boy's eyes turned ice cold.

"Souta? Hey, where is your sister?" asked Inuyasha casually, while trying to ignore the many evil eyes he was on the receiving end of.

"Get out."

"Huh?"

Souta continued to look at him menacingly, "Get the hell out of my sight, and take your stupid friends with you. If you even think of coming near my sister again I will tear you apart from the inside out."

It was type of tone you never expected to hear from a little boy, he was cold, calculating, in control and utterly furious. Inuyasha held no doubt in his mind that this little boy would hold true to his word, and what's more, he would enjoy it. But what he was having trouble comprehending was the reason for all of this. "But-"

"Hell no, I don't even want to hear a word come from that filthy lying mouth of yours, you have already done enough damage: to me, to Shippo, to my sister, to everyone. All that comes out is lies! I'm sick of being lied too!" Souta's voice was starting to rise now, grabbing the attention of both best friends.

Soon, seeing what the commotion was, came Kohaku, knowing it took a lot to rile up his friend. As soon as he looked at where Souta's sharp an unwavering gaze was a scowl replaced the normally his normally relaxed and loving features. They dropped even more when Miroku walked curiously around the corner of night gowns.

"Kohaku? Is that you my man?" said Miroku sweetly.

The boy looked like he was going to attack the god of jest on the very spot, a vibe which was immediately taken into notice by the formerly mentioned god. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"I don't really care, but you know when one is around, the others are sure to follow," said Souta, not once lowering his hateful gaze.

"Kohaku?" asked Miroku once again.

"Back off, you don't have any right to call be by my name Jest," spat the protective and hurt boy.

Miroku was immediately stopped in his tracks, it was like he was run over by a semi, his world stopped spinning round. He had become extremely attached to Kohaku with the last couple of weeks, mainly because he knew how important the boy was to Sango. "What is going on?" he asked Inuyasha.

"I don't-" but he was cut off by the sound of laughter.

He looked up to see both Sango and Kagome walking forward while laughing themselves silly. "Damn, I wish Rin and Ayame could have joined us today, they need this as much as we do. I still cannot believe you tried that thing on Sango!"

"Me? Hey, at least mine wasn't see through!" laughed Sango back at Kagome.

They both started laughing again, Inuyasha watched powerlessly as Kagome gripped her sides in pain due to laughing so hard. "Hey boys," she looked up, "ready to go?"

Then their eye's met, Kagome and Inuyasha stared at each other helplessly. Inuyasha in wonder, Kagome in fear. He watched as the smile that once decorated her porcelain crafted face dissipated in front of his very eyes. He watched as the laughter that originally consumed her soul morphed into a cold and bitter miasma determined to extinguish any existing light. Was that all from just one glance at him?

He was about to ask; to ask what was wrong. If he could help. If there was anything he could do. If he could make the pain he saw reflecting in her eyes and into her very heart, go away, but the tears that were slowly welling up in those beautiful blue eyes stopped him. He watched as the different hues of blue were clouded over by the clear liquid threatening to fall mercilessly. He watched as her bottom lip started to quiver, as her knees stared to buckle, as her long, smooth and delicate fingers clenched themselves into fists.

He watched…he watched as she took a long breath, closed her eyes, and attempted to turn around. He instinctively grabbed her arm. "Kago-" he was abruptly cut off by the piercing pain in his left cheek. He stared down at the floor as he listened to the echo of the slap he had just received. He could feel the left side of his face throbbing, but he found that the physical pain she had just caused wasn't what hurt. No, it was the fact that she had been the one to do it. That pain in her eye's when she looked at him; that was what he felt gnawing at his soul.

He finally looked back up, red cheek and all, to see tears coming from Kagome's normally cheerful eye's. They were full of so much emotion, so much pain. It hurt to look at her. She swiftly pulled her wrist from his grasp, once doing so stumbling a few steps back. Without looking at him again she grabbed her bags and headed out the store, pushing past the wide eyed Miroku. Pushing past the unbelieving gaze of Kouga and Sesshomaru, pushing past Inuyasha's shattered stare.

She didn't care, she just couldn't stand to be there, with him.

Sango watched her friend retreat. She wanted to be with her, and to be away from Miroku. Why was he still there? This was the reason, this is why her trust was so hard to come by, this was why she never let people be close. They would break your heart in the end. She had put so much faith in Miroku, so very much, and he just threw it all away.

Sango too attempted to leave the god forsaken building, but was stopped by Miroku's body which was conveniently in her way. She continued to look at the floor; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing the pain he had caused her. He was Jest after all, that's all life was to him, a game. That's all this attempted transformation had been, a game. That's all she had been, just some temporary form of entertainment. She should have known, she really should have. They were after all who the girls of the school went to for comfort when they themselves put their faith in something that just didn't exist. All of the goddesses should have known not to fall for the god's tricks, but they did, and now they were all paying the price.

She watched as Miroku's hand moved from his side and into her range, he was reaching out for her. As soon as skin made contact she broke. "Don't touch me!"

He immediately pulled back as she screamed at him to get away. Finally she looked up; she looked up to see confusion, pain, loss and suffering staring back at her. Sango didn't care; she wasn't going to stand for this. Grabbing her bags, arms and legs shaking, she walked out of the store, hoping to find Kagome.

Souta, Kohaku and Shippo looked at the two Mt. Olympus High School gods in front of them, only they didn't see gods who ruled the school or town. No, instead stood two pathetic excuses for men who enjoyed tormenting others, leaving their victims heartbroken and shattered, alone to pick up the pieces. They watched as the two other men stepped up behind their leader.

Shippo couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and ran blindly out the door, not caring who he happened to crash into, just as long as he found his one security against it all, Kagome.

Souta and Kohaku watched the young sprite dash out the door. They each continued their looks of hate as they too turned their backs and coldly walked out the front space leading to the rest of the mall. They left behind four broken men, four broken men who they wanted to hurt badly.

* * *

Rin sat tiredly on the swing, hoping to god no one would come up and ask her if she was ok. She was wet, soaked to the bone. She had sat here all day, through rain, rain and more rain. Well, at least it wasn't reain anymore. Her toes rested on the ground as she sat helplessly, eyes downcast, head bent in defeat. Why did she do it? Why did she trust him? She went against everything she knew; her instincts, her gut, all the wisdom she had gained throughout the years of knowing Sesshomaru lost! Why? She knew better! 

Yet, somehow she had fallen; he had charmed her, leading her to believe that there was hope for him. That inside that hollow chest beat a heart that wanted to be heard. That behind all those sarcastic remarks, behind all the horrible things he had said or done to her thought the years, that something was there. That he was just trying to break free. She should have known! She defied everything her mind had told her and became, became…attached.

She was _attached_ to that stupid arrogant man. He had her hoping, she had held faith in him, _she_ had trusted him to be different. To care about others, to give a damn about their day! Why didn't she listen to herself? Why didn't she follow the advice she had given to others so many times? Why was she so hung up over this?

Damn that bastard to hell! That was the only thing going through her mind at the moment. That Sesshomaru needed to reunite with his ancestors.

Rin quickly wiped away another tear as she felt rather then saw it escaping. God she was an idiot.

She heard footsteps but ignored them. There had been noises around her all day. And all day she refused to look up. They quickly receded. Rin inhaled another sigh, maybe she should have joined Kagome and Sango for that shopping spree, it would probably be better then this. I mean, here she was crying to herself, near dusk, all alone and in the middle of a playground. She always was happiest when she was with the others, especially Kagome.

Kagome had always been the one to cheer everyone up. No clue how she did it but she did, it was just in her personality to think of others. Course, obviously Kagome wasn't doing that great either, if she was she would have dragged both her and Ayame into going with them and not have taken no for an answer.

Another tear came out, she quickly wiped it away. Damn Sesshomaru, why did she have to trust him? It's not like she had wanted to or anything, hell, she told herself every night to keep him at a distance…but, how had this happened?

Rin once again heard footsteps, and once again ignored them, only this time they became louder. Great, now someone was going to ask if she was ok, didn't she already explain that this was not what she wanted? Rin waited a few moments, trying to regain her composure. As she predicted the person stopped in front of her but found herself slightly baffled when nothing else happened. All she heard was labored breathing, like they had been running for a while.

After a few more moments Rin got slightly curious and looked up. When she did it was as if the world itself stopped spinning. There in front of her stood a flustered, panting and frantic Sesshomaru. His hair was a mess, the wind had obviously done its work and his clothes had clearly been thrown on as they still looked sloppy, well as sloppy as Sesshomaru could ever be. His shoe laces were untied and his face was pale, what's more, he was indeed breathing hard, as if he had just been through some form of intense work out.

"Sesshomaru?" she asked, glad she had given herself a few moments to catch her breath before looking at him, she would defiantly be running from him right now if she hadn't of. She was having a hard time staying put and looking at him as it was.

"I-I tried calling you," he took in another breath of air, "but your mom, she said you hadn't been home all day. We, um, saw Kagome and Sango at the mall, and it worried me. I've never been scared before Rin, but when I-when I saw how Kagome reacted to Inuyasha…I've been looking all day Rin, why didn't you answer your cell phone?"

"Sesshomaru…I have to go," she couldn't take it, the look in his eye's she had never seen anything like it before. Not from him. He was doing it again, he was making her think that there was a chance, that he cared, that he fucking cared! He was not going to do this to her again, she refused to fall for it!

Immediately trying to stand up she was cut off when Sesshomaru leaned forward and grabbed the chain of her swing, restricting any movement. "No, don't you dare leave Rin, now why the hell didn't you answer you damn phone!"

Rin looked down at the ground, she would not look up at him. No, it wasn't just that she wouldn't, but she couldn't. But his voice, it sounded so needing, so worried, so desperate.

"Rin," his voice was stronger now, determined and hard. He reached out and lifted her chin with his fingers, which to Rin were more like deadly claws seeping acid into her skin.

He was forcing her to look at him, and slowly she did. He had caught his breath, but his face was the same. He was scared, Rin had never seen Sesshomaru scared, and it was obviously new to him as well. The tears in her eyes came back, she could feel them. Her eyes started to water and her cheeks became wet. Why was he putting her through this?

Sesshomaru watched as she started to cry, he didn't like her crying, and he didn't know why. All he knew was Rin was mad at him and for some reason he couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the thought of her being so distraught, especially over something he had caused. And what's more, he had truly panicked when he hadn't gotten a hold of her.

After the mall Sesshomaru had driven everyone home, and it was quite. Inuyasha sat up front with him, but his mind was defiantly not inside his body. Sesshomaru remembered watching Inuyasha as he stared longingly at the people walking together on the streets…no, Inuyasha was defiantly not present at the moment, and Miroku, well, that man just held his head in his lap the entire time, looking down at the floor through his legs.

As soon as they got home they each went their separate ways for some quite solitude. Sesshomaru immediately jumped in the shower, wanting to wash away the day's events. About half way through a thought hit him, where was Rin? He hadn't heard from her at all, and if Kagome and Sango were this mad then was Rin feeling the same way?

Sesshomaru had immediately jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, at the same time calling Rin's house, a number he found himself not needing to look up. He felt like he could be snapped in two when Rin's mother picked up and told him Rin hadn't been home all day. Throwing on whatever was closest he ran out the door. Sesshomaru didn't know what had come over him, all he knew was that he had to find her. He must have searched the entire city too, running all over town. The library, the school, the other library, the recreation center, the children's library, her favorite lunch spots; he must have stopped by every persons house that he had ever even seen her glance at.

And now he had found her, and every fear that had hit him during the last couple of hours was confirmed. She was livid, she wouldn't even look at him. And it was al his fault. He knew he had been getting attached to Rin. Sesshomaru had found himself more than a couple of times thinking about her during class, or at dinner, or while studying. Hell, he would wake up thinking about her. Even when he was on dates with other girls he would be wondering how Rin would act on a date, or he would find himself comparing whomever he was with against to her.

He was not going to loose whatever twisted bond they had formed over him being an idiot, over him being scared of possibly caring about someone. Those tears in her dark brown eyes were enough to tell him that this was not what he wanted.

"Rin, I'm sorry."

He watched as her eyes widened in disbelief. Sesshomaru didn't say sorry to anyone! He didn't even say sorry to his dad!

"You mean that? Your-your not just saying that?"

He raised an eye brow, "Yes, because I say sorry so often."

"You know-it-all jerk," she mumbled, but she soon looked back up in his eyes, "but really, you mean that? Cause I trusted you, and you went back on everything Sesshomaru. You betrayed me and everything I thought you could be. I can't be friends with someone who does those sort of things Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru let go of the swing he was still holding onto and once again looked her in the eye. He had really hurt her hadn't he? Here he had been running around town worried about himself and what he might loose, when he should have been thinking about her pain, instead of his own. Sesshomaru pulled her up to stand on her own two feet and pulled her body into his, wrapping his arms around her. He could feel her surprise as he hugged her, but her body slowly relaxed. "I'm sorry Rin, I really am. I didn't think about what I was doing, so much for being the god of Knowledge huh?"

He continued to hold her tighter, but she took a deep breath in and let loose a small smile, "It's ok, I think Wisdom got caught up in this too."

* * *

Ayame stared blankly at the drawings in front of her. They seemed so lifeless, but maybe that was because she was so lifeless. Nothing she had worked on was even remotely close to good. They seemed so forced, so unoriginal, so not her. Who was she kidding? She couldn't even think strait, let alone draw a strait line. What was wrong with her? Usually when she didn't feel up to her normal perkiness she'd draw it out and move on, but…nothing, absolutely nothing. 

Maybe this was something that couldn't be solved through art, but, what else was she supposed to do?

Stupid dumb ass Kouga! She should have been hitting him harder over the past few weeks, maybe she could have knocked his fucking brain awake. Why the hell did he have to go and ruin everything like that? Why the hell couldn't he care about anyone but his blasted self? And he was so freaking arrogant too! He was positive he would never get caught or reprimanded!

So she had finally got him, like she had dreamed of doing for god knows how many years now. Since, since junior high. He had been tormenting her that long! She had dealt with all his nagging, arrogant and sexist comments and everything else he had put her through…so why was she not celebrating?

Why wasn't she producing her best works of art while crying hysterically out of joy and relief? Why did she feel like she hadn't won at all? Why did she feel like a part of her had been ripped out once the placement was final? God why couldn't she get him out of her head!

He was there constantly with his arrogant grin and blue eyes that seemed to laugh all on their own. What's worse was the feeling of betrayal. Ok, she would admit it, she had gotten used to having him around and over the past few weeks he had turned into the man that she had always dreamed of…but he ruined it! He ruined everything! He ruined all that she had hoped for, all that she had striven day and night for!

And now he had ruined her victory too.

No, she wouldn't lie, this was no victory. This was a loss, just like Sango always says, 'I'd rather win the war then the battle'. Damit, the goddess's had won the battle, but the war?

Why couldn't he leave her alone? After what he did to her, after what he is doing? He should just leave her in peace!

Ayame grabbed a pencil and a clean piece of paper, attempting to get these hideous thoughts out of her head. Placing the paper on her personal canvas before her Ayame attempted to draw. She needed to stop thinking about him and everything he stood for. If she kept thinking like this she'd feel it: the betrayal, the pain, the loss, the heartbreak, the loneliness.

No, she was going to work, she was going to work all her problems away. Her studio was the one place she could find solitude and damit all to hell if Kouga was going to reach her here! She had worked to hard for this space. It was at the college in the art department, and this was hers and hers alone. All around her their were other canvases, other spaces that belonged to other students but this area here was her escape and nothing was going to reach her here.

"Ayame!"

Her eye's snapped open at the sound of the metal door being swung open. Her head shot up at the sound of the very familiar voice echoing across the room. No, there was no way, anyone but him! Not here, not now.

Her eye's focused only to meet up with a pair of deep blue ones looking back at her. Her entire body froze, it was if she could feel her heart encased in a frozen layer of ice, determined never to thaw. With his first step forward into the classroom she felt her heart crack down the middle. No, no, no, no, no!

Her pencil dropped out of her hand and onto the floor, a shrill clanking noise followed. She watched as he took a few more steps forward, managing to walk past a few other designated canvases. She was too scared to take in his horrible appearance, his panicked face or his longing and approval seeking eyes. All she wanted was for him to be gone.

With each step he took forward she stumbled backwards. She needed to get out; she didn't want to deal with this. And if she couldn't paint these emotions out of her system god damit she was going to run from them. With one more pleading look from Kouga she heatedly pushed her canvas in front of his path and dashed for the back door.

She jumped over a table and rolled onto her side as she tripped. She may not be Kouga or Sango in the active department but that didn't mean she was helpless. Quickly pushing herself up and running out the door she felt like screaming when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. Was he following her?

She made a quick glace back to see Kouga skid out the door she had just exited, no! Why couldn't he leave her alone? Ayame speedily sprinted around a large oak tree hoping to loose him in the dark but the pounding of his feet told her otherwise. Damn, she almost slipped, the grass was still wet from the downpour todays. Tears started to swell up in her eyes, no, she would not cry, she would not give that sadistic bastard the satisfaction of seeing what he did to her.

She picked up her pace, pushing her body past it's extreme, but she didn't care. She didn't care, and she couldn't care because he didn't care. The pounding of feet that didn't match her own was getting louder, had she not lost him yet?

Suddenly she felt something from behind her grab her waist and tackle her to the ground. For a spit second Ayame and her attacker were in mid air, sailing with their speed. She felt her body being flipped over and on top as they hit the ground, skidding to a stop four feet from were they landed.

After a few seconds of catching her breath she quickly got her bearings and attempted to stand up but arms quickly wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her possessively back in. She tried to once again to flip over but was stopped when a pair of hands held her tight. Finally gaining the courage to look at the man who had charged her, she opened her eyes slowly.

Cautiously she saw the well toned muscles of a man that she had previously only felt. His tan and well worked arms still hung around her waist, not giving the slightest inkling that they would be releasing her anytime soon. No, as she made her way up to his neck she knew that she couldn't look at him, she was still crying and his shirt was already wet. She wouldn't embarrass herself anymore, she wouldn't give him the pleasure.

She tried to get up again but his grip refused to lessen. The only thing she could focus on was his breathing which matched her own hard pressed pants. Looking down Ayame noticed a trail of flat grass in their wake. He had taken the brunt of it too, he had flipped her over to protect her from the ground's impact forcing it upon himself…but why would he do that?

With that though in her mind Ayame willed herself too look up. When she did she saw Kouga's stare fixed on her. Her nails dug deeper into him, his clothes ruffled and stretched in her grip. She dug her face into his shirt, not having any other alternative other than to look at him.

She felt as he slowly sat up, bringing her with him, her body still leaning into his own, his grip not loosening in the slightest. She felt him place his chin on the top of her head as his arms slipped up her back. Once situated Kouga wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, but Ayame found that it was exactly what she needed.

"I don't like you running away from me," his voice radiated through her mind, hitting every corner imaginable.

"I don't like you being a jackass," she said half heartedly.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper.

"For what?"

He held her tighter, "For making you cry," with that Ayame clutched him tighter, glad he had won this round.

* * *

Sango punched her punching bad mercilessly. Damn them all to hell! She ducked and gave a few more hard core punches. Damn those fucking bastards to hell! Sango did a roundhouse and kicked the black punching bag with all her might, successfully knocking it a few feet back only to have it swing back towards her with the same amount of force, but she met it head on with another couple of punches. 

She met everything head on, it was just the way she worked. It was in her wiring, he blood and she absolutely wanted to kill herself for how she acted today at the mall. How was she that weak? She had broken down in front of the enemy! Damit!

Sango quickly did a combination hit, a block and then an uppercut followed by a side kick on the left. A few more jabs and another round house later she stopped to take in a deep breath. How the hell had this happened?

She was Strength. She had survived her brother's illness, she had survived the last three years with the gods high on their tails but this…this was breaking her down? Damn, she was not a weak person but this was really getting to her.

Sango turned around after a quick drink from her water bottle and swung back around, ready for some more action. You know, with the top part sticking up like it was and then hanging down she could almost picture the black bag as Miroku with his low ponytail in place. A scowl reached her lips with the thought and she punched the bag with all her might.

Her hands had gone numb a while back so it didn't hurt. She hadn't worn punching gloves or any type of padding, no, just some plain wrist guards and some bandages around her fingers to keep them together. She punched again.

Stupid Miroku, another punch. Stupid grin, another followed. Stupid laugh. She punched again. Stupid chivalry, she did another upper cut. Stupid perverted ness. She kneed the bag. Stupid way he made her feel safe! She gave the bag on last hard punch, picturing Miroku's face while doing so.

Why did he make her feel this way? It was as if she had no thought process of her own! Sango was a fighter, she knew that like she knew the earth was round, but everything was just so wrong! This was why she didn't trust people, they would let you down, leave you in the dust, broken and alone. They didn't care, Miroku had proven that.

If he had cared at all about her, or anyone else for that matter none of this would have happened. All eight of them would be sitting together somewhere laughing about something stupid but at the same time the funniest thing in the world and she wouldn't be here feeling so…betrayed.

Sango slouched down against the bag, hoping for at least some type of support. She felt so broken, so lost, so betrayed. God she felt betrayed, like she had just found out that her parents weren't really her parent's or that Kagome was being forced to move away because of her witch of a mother. She couldn't handle this.

Why would Miroku do this to her? Why would he put her through so much pain? He had known her in elementary school and he knew her faith was hard to gain and once it was it would kill her if broken. But, had he really gained her trust?

She didn't want to admit it but he did, and it hurt to say it too. Gained, implying was, or did, or any other past tenses that came to mind. Whatever it was, it was no longer present. Sango could feel the tears streaking down her face but felt relieved as she watched them hit the floor.

For a moment in time, she was allowed to feel weak, she was permitted pain and agony. She had been denying it from herself for so long.

That was the answer, the reason Miroku let this happen, because he didn't care. He didn't care what happened to her and he didn't care what impact he had on others. She knew it, she had always known it. But, when he was around Sango had felt her strength wavering.

Lot of good that had done her.

But, it was wrong to say this was all Miroku's fault, she was after all the one who had unwittingly placed her trust in him. Whether meaning to or not she had, and in doing so she had sealed her fate. Sango of all people knew what Miroku was, what he was like. He was a womanizer, one who charmed them and then left. He was a wonderer, and he had wandered into her house, and like a good neighbor she had fed him, and in return he left her robbed and broke.

Sango wiped her eyes and stood back up. It didn't matter whose fault this was, the facts still remained true. She absolutely hated the bastard and he was going to pay for how he'd thrown her aside like some used piece of garbage. She punched the pinching bag again.

"Sango?"

She froze, her body actually froze, becoming rigid with hate and malice. Taking another breath, she continued her therapy with the defenseless punching bag, determined to not let Miroku get to her. She would keep up her strength if it was the last thing she did.

She listened intently as Miroku's feet shuffled close to her. "Sango please talk to me, I'm begging you Sango."

No, she would not give in. She refused to. She gave the bag another combination hit as she felt tears once again well up in her eyes.

"Please Sango, I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking and I'm a total idiot. I never thought my actions would affect you like this. I didn't actually think that you cared what happened to me," his voice was so pleading, so broken.

Sango stopped mid punch. The tears were freely pouring now. She didn't turn around. Her arm now rested by her sides, still scrunched up in fists. "I _don't_ care what happens to you Miroku," she said in the most dead pan voice she could muster.

Miroku felt the weight of a thousand worlds pressed down on his shoulders. She didn't care? No, she had to care; he wouldn't survive if she didn't care. "Sang-"

"Leave me Jest, I think your _god_ needs some new form of entertainment," Sango went back to punching the bag.

Miroku watched as she went back to punching the black figurine. She was killing him inside with her words, what was worse, he knew he deserved them. Oh he had missed Sango over the years, a concept that didn't hit him until he had her back. He didn't care if he had to spend the rest of his life trying, he was going to get her to care. He was going to get her back.

Miroku watched her firm stance once again. She was causing him so much pain, why couldn't she see that. But…was this just a fracture of the pain he had caused her? All because he had been afraid of his own feelings? It was stupid of him, he had to admit, to release his frustrations the way he did, it was stupid of all of them, but damit he didn't deserve this.

He quickly walked up to Sango before she had time to react and spun her around to face him, but before he had even a chance to look at her a fist came flying at him. He quickly dodged to his right, though not fast enough. The punch had grazed his cheek, leaving a slight cut from the impact. He looked up at Sango but her face was still covered by the shadow of her bangs.

Miroku tried to move towards her again but was once again thwarted. Her left leg came strait at him in a high kick, he immediately blocked it, only to have her twist and swing with her other leg. He ducked and blocked a right hook.

"How dare you come near me," he heard her whisper.

She made another attempt at him, he caught her knee heading towards his gut and blocked three more punches. He tripped trying to block another punch and ended up on the ground. Rolling out of the way and barely dodging a kick in the gut he jumped up on his feet.

"How dare you, I trusted you Miroku, and you broke that," she swung at him again, doing a karate chop. He turned around and caught her hand in his own but she reached for his ponytail and yanked him down on the ground. Kicking Sango's feet from under her making her fall as well. Miroku once again listed himself off the floor watching Sango do the same.

"You ruined everything! I hate you!" this time she looked up and he found a clear strait shot view of Sango's features. Her eyes were pouring and her eye's red.

She was truly broken. That's when it hit him, he was wrong. He deserved every punch she had swung at him. Every hit, every kick, he truly did deserve it all.

Sango made another dash but when she went in for her punch he ducked and caught her hand with his own, when she swung with her other he moved his left to hold that one in place as well. Then he did something unexpected, he pulled her in, arms and all. Placing her arms between their bodies he wrapped his own limbs around her small form. He hugged her tight until he felt her breathing calm down a bit. As soon as he relaxed his grip she pulled away slightly, freeing her arms and started to beat against his chest.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" she continued to yell and he continued to take the blows, verbal and physical. "I hate you," she whispered as she continued crying. With a few last pounds she sunk into his shirt, pulling herself closer, gripping onto the fabric with all her might, scratching his skin.

"I'm sorry,"

Her face dug in deeper as he hugged her closer to himself, there standing in the middle of the gym.

* * *

Kagome sat on the couch ice cream tub in front of her. As she dipped her spoon back into the dish she felt the spoon hit something, something that wasn't ice cream. Looking down she saw the bottom of the cardboard box. Had she already gone through a whole tub? Kagome looked back over at the TV to see the two lovers kissing. 

Fat chance, this was reality. Hollywood should make a movie that actually told the truth, not these sappy endings and such. Like, show a stay at home mom whose husband cheats on her only for her and her kid to be kick out when the husband is confronted. Then, have her working at dead end jobs the rest of her life to end up alone 'because any chance of a career that she may have had she gave up for her husband. Then have her kid join a gang and die because she couldn't afford a nice neighborhood to live in. Yes, alone, that was the real world. Why didn't Hollywood show that?

Kagome got up and brushed her sweats and tank top off, attempting to get rid of the crumbs she had gathered through out the night. Pulling the large blanket closer she heading into the kitchen, or more precisely, the freezer. Yanking out another tub of ice cream she headed back over to her couch, ignoring the Lysol and Windex at her feet. She'd clean the rest of the house later.

Stepping over a few bags of popcorn and chips Kagome sat back down and turned the volume up on the TV, not wanting to be disturbed. It was about that time she heard the doorbell ring. Sighing she moved the box of tissues that were by her feet, she was after all watching sappy romantic love movies. It always struck her as odd how whenever you needed something sappy and happy there was a marathon of some type going on.

Moving to the front door she attempted to grab the handle but heard Souta charging down the stairs behind her. "Hey, you are supposed to be sleeping young man."

"And you should be eating fat free ice cream," he smirked back.

"Why you twit," she scowled back as she reached for the door.

Souta lunged from the stairs, "No, I'll get it. I'm bored out of my wit pretending to be asleep upstairs."

"Souta!"

"What?"

"Get back up in your room and go to sleep!"

"But I'm answering the door," he wined loudly.

"But I'm answering the door and you're going to bed," she retorted back.

* * *

Inuyasha stood outside Kagome's door, he could hear shuffling inside. Well at least she was going to open the door, cause they needed a serious talk. Now, Inuyasha wasn't usually one for talking but this was obviously an emergency. He never again wanted Kagome to look at him like she had today in the mall. 

He watched as the door slid open, he wasn't sure who he wanted it to be, Kagome or Souta. Neither seemed like a great choice at the moment but he had to work with what he had. No matter what he was going to fix this.

As the door slowly made its way open he could feel the light coming from inside the room. Ok, now he was nervous, why was he so nervous? Oh, right, cause not only was Kagome terrified of him but she also hated him. Now why this was such a problem was something he was going to have to contemplate later. Damn, his hands were sweating, and his pulse was definitely up, he could tell that by the thumping of his heart.

The door was fully opened now, and he looked to see bright blue eye's widen with recognition.

Kagome.

But before he could even get a word out, the door was slammed shut, blocking his way, he then heard the clicking of the lock. He stood there dumb founded for a couple minutes till it registered; she had just shut the door on him.

That wench freaking shut the door on him! Fucking bitch was gonna pay for that!

Realizing he was going to need another entrance because she sure as hell wasn't going to be doing this willingly, Inuyasha did a quick surveillance of the house.

This was not going to be easy, he could try a window but they were all sealed off on the bottom floor, which left, great, the second story ones. Why couldn't anything be easy? You know, ever since the damn goddesses had entered the picture life had no longer been perfect. Now it was difficult, now it had obstacles, now it made him work. Actually, it wasn't when the goddess's entered the picture, it was more so when Kagome and her friends reentered their lives.

So it was women that were making everything difficult none the less. Perfect.

Inuyasha sighed and glanced once more up to the top rooms. Kagome's moms room would undoubtedly be sealed off, and Souta was probably not the person whose room to break into at the moment. Guess that really only left Kagome's room, since the guest room was on the other side of the house.

Walking up got an idea, the tree right beside Kagome's window, that could work. Inuyasha stared up at the tree. Now how to get up in the tree? Deciding he was going to get no where standing there Inuyasha made a quick leap over to the nearest branch. Once he reached it he realized from the cracking noises it wasn't going to hold his weight long, so he immediately swung his body up again and pushed off for another higher branch. Swinging his two feet up he rested on the thick attachment.

Making a few distance jumps Inuyasha finally reached the top and as silently as possible opened the girl's window. Seeing that it was dark he hoped no one was inside and finally slid into the room.

Inuyasha had always had excellent night vision and was forever grateful that that was a trait he had inherited from his father. Glancing around once more he moved forward in an attempt to get out of the room but he soon found out his sleeve had other plans. His arm was immediately jerked back. Inuyasha turned around to see that a drawer had snagged some fabric. Yanking it free without thought Inuyasha regretted his actions the moment it happened. With that pull the alarm clock sitting on top of the drawer came tumbling off, landing on the alarm button. The thing immediately went blaring.

Scrambling to his feet Inuyasha dashed to the offensive object in attempt to turn the loud blasted thing off. Finding no button to push he did the next best thing. He smashed it. Right there on the floor, he threw it on the ground until it stopped its excessive noise. Sighing in relief Inuyasha prayed no one had heard the commotion but unfortunately his sensitive hearing picked up the shuffling of footsteps.

Before he even had a chance a sleepy eyed Souta swung the door open. "I wasn't sleeping," he yawned. Then his eyes went wide, Inuyasha's eye's went wide. As soon as Inuyasha saw Souta's mouth open in an attempt to yell the silver haired teen lunged to cover the boy's mouth with his hand. Only muffled noises made it through.

"Please don't tell your sister Souta, listen, I'm real sorry for what I did, but how the hell am I supposed to make up for it if I can't even get close to Kagome? Really kid, you gotta believe me, today in the mall, I've…I've never felt so, so, horrible in my life."

He felt Souta relax a bit as the kid stopped struggling, Inuyasha loosened his grip slightly, ready to place it back on if the kid should yell. He wasn't taking any chances in loosing Kagome.

"You broke her heart. It killed her when she got that call, I think it actually killed her. Sure, she smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. She had so much faith in you…we all did, and you proved to her exactly what she has been trying to disprove for the past three years. That you really don't care, that the only person you think of is yourself, not caring a crap about the consequences. Why the hell do you think the display case wasn't put on you before? Cause Kagome begged and pleaded, positive that this jerk front you put on was just that, a front."

Inuyasha listened helplessly as the boy spoke. With each word Souta's tears became stronger, with each tear realization hit Inuyasha harder. Inuyasha felt horrible as he looked at the small fragile boy in front of him. He really was a jerk. First his father, then his grandfather died, his mother only cared about herself and then he comes into the picture, proving any belief the kid might have about people in general. Not only did he shatter the boy's sister, his only survival link, but he tore Souta up as well. Souta had trusted him.

"Hey kid…I'm sorry. I really am."

Souta sniffled, "Sorry don't mean nothing, just like promises."

Inuyasha raised the kid's face up to his eye level so Souta couldn't look down at the floor anymore, "Mine do."

Souta wiped his eyes and gave a small laugh, "You sound like my sister."

"Guess I'm stepping up in the world," Inuyasha ruffled Souta's hair.

Souta got up and led Inuyasha to the door, once there he turned around, "She's down stairs on the couch, and she turned up the volume real loud, just in case you were outside banging on the door. That's why she couldn't hear you."

Inuyasha smirked, "Thanks kid, I owe you one," he then started to head down the stairs but a voice stopped him.

"Come to my open game tomorrow?"

Inuyasha turned around and looked back up the stairs. He saw the outline of boy who idolized him, he was not going to mess this up. No, not again. "Wouldn't miss it," he winked as Souta turned back around and headed into his room.

Inuyasha turned back around as well, determined to talk to Kagome, whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

Firevixen73- Oh that was a very long chapter, but I made it that way on purpose to make up for the long update interval. So I hope it is good, I think it was a very emotional chapter, which again, good. This thing was 23 pages! All done in like three sittings! Thanks for being such great readers and sticking with me, please review! They always inspire me, and since I have a few more days off work, maybe I can get another chapter up! 


	16. Seeking Redemption

Kagome stared at the T.V. lifelessly. At this point in time an airplane could come crashing through her window and she would even notice. Grabbing the remote she pressed the volume button desperately, hoping to drown out her own thoughts. Her own tormenting thoughts. She was positive Inuyasha had left by now, for him to have stayed would imply that he cared. It had already been established that that wasn't a possibility.

No, contrary to what she was sure her younger brother was thinking upstairs while pretending to be asleep, it wasn't Inuyasha's voice she was trying to drown out, it was her own. It was the one in her head telling her self how truly naïve she was, how utterly stupid to try and trust him. It was her own traitorous thoughts that needed to be drowned out.

She was so stupid, trying to justify Inuyasha and the others for all these years. Ya, sure they were horrible when it came down to it but, for some reason she had hoped there was something more. More than the façade of the rich jackass that truly didn't care. More than the self-loving person the world idolized, that he himself idolized. That should have been her first clue, who idolizes themselves?

This is what she deserved though, for putting her faith in others. Kagome grabbed a pillow and placed it in between her knees and her chin as the tears she had tried so hard to suppress fell mercilessly. God she was an idiot, you'd think a person would learn, especially one as burned as her.

Her tears continued to fall, her face damp, her sobs making it past her red lips. She bit her cheek, trying to get herself to quite down, maybe the physical pain would lesson the emotional. Besides, the last thing she needed right now was for Souta to come down and see her crying, it was hard enough trying to keep a strait face when talking to him as it was.

She continued to burry her face in her pillow, all the noise, all the sights, all the smells, all the feeling of her life just needed to be blocked out. Not for long, just for now, she just needed a night, just one night, to let it all out. All the tears, all the anger, everything. After that she would be fine, she'd walk back into school and be fine, but tonight she need this moment it time. Just for tonight.

"Kagome?"

Her eyes snapped open, her sobs caught in her throat. Wide eyed her frame curled out of its fetus position, her neck straining itself to look up. She knew that voice, oh God she knew that voice! As she gained the courage to truly look, her heart momentarily stopped beating.

There he stood, in all his glory, standing there in her stairway, eyes locked on her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to throw something, she wanted to cry. Oh God she wanted to cry. What was he doing here? How was he even here?

He took a step forward, arm stretched out towards her, "Kagome please, I really need to talk, _we_ really need to talk."

She watched him take another step forward, her eyes widened further. He took another, she clutched her pillow and scooted backwards, pushing her feet along side the couch, determined to keep a safe distance. Finally reaching the end of the couch she stumbled to her feet, still not knowing how to react though wanting something between the two. She watched as his eyes seemed to glaze over with some unknown emotion, she wasn't sure what to call it, but it seemed to intensify with each step back she took. If she hadn't of known Inuyasha she could have classified it as pain.

"Kagome?"

She clutched her pillow tighter, though her eyes glazed over. "What do you want?"

"I told you, I want to talk."

"Well maybe I don't want to, now get the hell out of my house," her voice was smooth and calm, but most of all threatening.

"I don't care if you don't want to Kagome, I do," he stubbornly replied.

"I'm not telling you anything about the goddesses Inuyasha, now get out!" she yelled this time, her calm practiced exterior cracking.

She watched as his face twisted in confusion, then sudden realization, and then finally pure anger. "Is that what you think? That the damn goddesses is the reason I'm here! Forget them Kagome, I could give a damn about them, right now all I want is for _you_ to listen to me!"

"Please Inuyasha," even in this state her eyes, which were resisting the tears forming, managed to roll themselves, "you never forget a grudge. When someone wrongs you, you go out of your way to get them back, to beat them. You expect me to believe that this time will be any different? I know you better than that, and this whole display case probably has you itching for a fight," she said bitterly.

"Kagome why can you just listen to me? I mean it, I just want to talk, figure things out," Inuyasha took another step forward in turn moving around the couch. Kagome, seeing how this was turning moved as well, in sync with his steps. He stopped when he realized he was getting no where, "Kagome this isn't a joke, I want to talk."

"Well I don't now get out before I make you," she whispered harshly.

That was it, Inuyasha had had enough, he was tired of playing the nice compassionate one that was calm all the time, it just wasn't his style. He was loosing his temper, and that was never a good thing. "Damn it Kagome! What is your deal, it's not like you have anything to be mad about anyways! It's not like were close, we're not really even friends!"

She froze with that comment, as did he. That was not what he meant to come out. That was _really_ not what he meant to come out. He watched as her eyes grew fierce, her stance grew ridged and the pillow fell to the floor. The two locked eyes, and Kagome's once beautiful lively eyes darkened.

"Your right Inuyasha, we aren't friends," her tone killed him inside. It was so ridged, so cold, it was worse than his brothers, worse than his fathers. He looked again deeper, hoping beyond hope to find something, anything, he just needed a bit of recognition. But there was none. "I was stupid to be mad about something that was none of my business."

He tried to cut her off, "Kago-"

"You and I are not friends, haven't been for quite some time, in fact if we could be classified as anything it would be enemy's considering everything you have put me through over the last couple of years, half of which you don't even know about," she continued to talk, but all he wanted to do was make her stop, why wasn't she stopping? He did not want to hear this, this wasn't Kagome talking, this was someone else, the real Kagome would never say such things.

"You don't know me, and I don't know you. Sure, we know about each other, but that's the extent of it all," Kagome continued to speak.

Inuyasha had to resist running then and there. No, she was wrong, he knew her, he knew her better than anyone else could ever hope to know her. Better than Sango, better than Souta better than her own parents!

She looked out the window, then back at Inuyasha, "Alright, that's it. You can go now, you said what you wanted to, now please, just leave." Her tone was broken, defeated. It did not suit her.

Inuyasha tried to think of something to say but nothing would come out, the damage had been done. Not wanting to leave he took another step forward wanting her to understand, surprisingly she didn't move. Instead she continued to look at him, and eventually she turned around and headed towards him. But, instead of stopping she continued to walk, strait towards the door behind him. Unlocking the bolt she grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open. She looked back up at him, "Please leave Inuyasha."

Inuyasha just looked at her, still wanting to do something but having nothing to say, so, he quietly headed over to her and the door. Before stepping out onto the porch he looked back at Kagome's face, "I didn't mean it," was all he said.

Kagome stood there for a while, knowing he wouldn't leave till he had a response. She continued to lock eyes with him, determined not to fall. "Then why did you say it?"

He was out the door now, and before he had the chance to say something back, anything really, the door was shut. He just stood there, staring at the door. In truth, he didn't know why he said such horrible things to her; he didn't know why that was what came out. He stood on the porch for a good ten minutes contemplating her response. He had no answer for her, he had no answer for himself.

Inuyasha turned back around and cut through the lawn, the lawn which Kagome had undoubtedly mowed herself. He looked up and over to Kagome's balcony window, he could go back, but what good would that do? He watched as her light flicked on, and he stood there in the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of her before she said goodnight to Souta, but soon after the lights turned back off, leaving nothing but darkness to stare at. After a few more minutes he turned back around and headed home, where there was nothing but burnt take out, and dirty dishes to look forward to.

* * *

Souta looked over at his sister, she was different today. Something was definitely wrong, something had definitely happened last night. But what was it, he'd never seen his sister like this before. She was so out of it, yet somehow still there.

Souta turned back towards Kohaku and threw the ball. What could have Inuyasha said to make Kagome this upset? No, upset wasn't quite the right term, she wasn't acting upset at all, no, she was acting rather normal in fact. But it was still…wrong.

Souta looked up just in time to see a baseball flying right at him. On instinct he ducked hitting the ground roughly and covered his head. He heard it make contact with the fence behind him, followed by a loud rattling sound echoing in his skull. He looked up to see Kohaku looking at him skeptically. Walking over to his friend Kohaku pulled Souta up from the ground. "What's up?"

Souta dusted off his pants not believing he missed that throw. "Nothing."

Kohaku's eyebrow rose slightly, "You've been spacey all day. I saw you dozing so I pitched a good one and you _ducked_?"

Souta looked at Kohaku, "So you were trying to kill me?"

"You've caught way faster then that, you've pitched way faster then that," was his only reply.

"I'm just…hey, is there anything different about my sister today?" asked Souta, might as well see if he's just imagining things.

Kohaku looked over at his coach, then back at his best friend, "No, not really."

Souta closed his eyes for a second and then reevaluated his thoughts, then he looked back over at his sister. She was going over a few plays with Shippo. The kid was going to be trying out catcher today, which both Souta and Kohaku were thrilled about. The catcher, pitcher and first baseman had to be in perfect sync for the game to be a success. And considering Souta was pitcher and Kohaku was first baseman…they were going to have a lot of fun. Hopefully Shippo would be good at it. She was smiling like always, and laughing like usual, but, no, he wasn't imagining it, something was off.

He looked back over at Kohaku, "Just tell me if something seems off to you ok?"

Kohaku nodded, "Sure, though, if I were you I'd get your head back in the game," said a grinning first baseman.

Souta, completely confused followed his best friends gaze, only to turn beat red.

Kohaku looked over at Souta and smiled wider, "Looks like your girlfriend wanted to see you play."

Souta swung his mitt at Kohaku, but not before turning an even deeper shade of red, "She's not my girlfriend."

Kohaku grinned again, "Hey Coach, you'll never guess who just sho-" Souta's hand was suddenly covering Kohaku's mouth, though the boy continued to grin.

"Not another word, it's bad enough sis knows I like someone, the last thing I need is her figuring out what she looks like," whispered Souta, though a little to late, Kagome's attention had already been gained. Souta watched as her curiosity level peeked. She was looking right at them, and more specifically Kohaku. He wondered why, so he looked over to see Kohaku motioning with his eye's where for Kagome to look. He watched in horror as Kagome slowly dragged her gaze over in Hitomi's direction. Souta nearly passed out as an evil smirk crossed his devil of a sister's lips. Oh great, this just had to be the one smile that reached her eyes.

"Oh man, why me?" Then, to his utter horror the worst thing imaginable happened, Kagome, the spawn of all that is evil and embarrassing in the world, left Shippo at home plate and started to walk over to Hitomi and her friends.

He paled, he visibly paled. He would have rivaled a snowman in that moment, he was literally white. His hand covering up Kohaku's mouth slacked and Kohaku jumped out of Souta's grasp, but Souta didn't care at the moment, in fact all he could think about was finding a hole to hide in. Knowing Kagome she'd say something utterly embarrassing without even realizing it, or realizing it. She could very well realize it and still do it anyway, really just depended on her mood.

Souta pulled his hat down over his eye's, trying to block out the mental image of what the two could be talking about: baby pictures, baby stories, his crush, just last week accidentally walking into Victoria Secret and crashing into the underwear section where everything fell on top of him, crying while watching _The Lion King_, getting his head stuck in the railing and having to explain to the firemen how it happened and why he was covered from neck up in lotion, baby powder, peanut butter, oil and a maraschino cherry, oh the stories she tell.

He had to get over there.

But to walk into the middle of one of those conversations would be horrible, he could barely stand thinking about it, what if he actually heard it? What was he going to do?

Souta was so engrossed in his conversation with himself he didn't even notice Kohaku waving in front of his face. Finally, sick of being ignored, Kohaku threw his mitt at his space cadet friend. Souta was suddenly wide awake and looking at Kohaku, "What am I gonna do?"

Kohaku looked over at Kagome who was laughing with Hitomi and her friends, "Man, I don't know, maybe we can ask Sango to find out what Kagome said."

"Or maybe your sister would want to call up Hitomi as well, then they could have a little sleep over and swap stories," he all but growled back. Souta looked back over to see Kagome and Hitomi laughing. Then, horribly enough, Kagome turned towards him and made sure Hitomi was looking in his direction as well. She then pointed at him, and Hitomi nodded and smiled, turning back to her friends to talk about something he was sure at the moment was about him.

It really was a miracle he was still standing.

It was actually a real miracle he was still breathing, or was he? He really couldn't tell at the moment.

* * *

Kagome walked back over to the trenches and grabbed her playbook and roster. They were actually going to be doing a few hard plays today. Maybe she'd get them to work hard without even realizing it. Usually, she realized anyway, that her team learned the best when they thought they weren't learning anything. Or just having fun, which is why days like this were invented.

Kagome walked out of the trench, or, The Cave, as a few of the players had dubbed it, and looked up at the bright blue sky. Just a few clouds, and they were all white. Seemed like it was going to be a pretty nice day. Closing her eyes and relaxing in the moment Kagome took in a breath of fresh air and let it all out. She wasn't going to think of anything depressing today. Nothing about school, nothing about work, nothing about the goddesses and most of all, nothing about the gods. This was her time to relax.

Opening her eye's again she walked to the pitchers mound, where Souta and Kohaku already were, though, Souta looked in her opinion uncommonly white. Maybe it was the uniform; maybe his skin tone was being bleached out or something. Perhaps he should sit today out, he'd probably got to much sun or something, last thing on her list right now was for Souta to get sick. She hid her frown and blew the whistle that hung around her neck.

Soon she was surrounded by her team, all with eager faces. "Alright, time to play, though, I should say that we do have a few people joining us today out there so try to be nice. You know the rules so I wont go over them. All in all have fun, the rest I don't care about, it's what you make of it," Kagome then pointed to random teams and appointed people their teammates. Lastly she blew her whistle again for dismissal, and they all left. Souta was gone before she could ask him anything. Well, if something was really wrong he'd tell her.

* * *

"Don't you dare miss this one or I'll sock it to you Rex!" yelled one of her players. Kagome sighed, boys will be boys, not much you can do about that.

Rex readied his bat and hit the plate a couple of times, while Alex readied himself on third. Kagome listened as a few of the girls on the sideline giggled. Girls will be girls as well.

These were the rules; it wasn't till about halftime that anyone besides the players were allowed to play in the game. Her team needed to be worked before anyone could join, they were to good other wise. So, she wore them out, she wore them out good too. If the ball was in the air from a throw for longer than she liked, or they were moving to slow, or even if the pitchers pitch wasn't fast enough, the opposing team got to move an extra base. And the losing team had laundry duty, with her supervising of course, but they were the ones doing it.

Needless to say they worked hard.

Deciding Rex was wearing out she decided to spice it up a bit, the boy already had two strikes. She looked up and yelled, "Losers vacuum out my car!"

The ball was pitched, Rex hit it. Rex hit it hard. Worked every time.

Kagome was so involved in her game she didn't hear what was going on behind her. None of the squealing noises that all the girls were making reached her ears, nor the screeching of $200 tires, least of all the girl's comments about beautiful silver long hair.

* * *

Oh they were tired, they were so tired, she could see it in their stance. It was about time for break and the others to join. The score was about right as well, only one home run off from each other. It was good to keep it even, then they all had to do the work. Went faster that way. She smiled as she continued to work her boys. Though, once again frowned when she looked at Souta. He was still pale, not nearly as much but still so, also, his playing had been off today. Weird, when she was watching him practice he was fine.

Finally, she blew her whistle, times up. They all fell down where they were. Poor things…oh well. Kagome walked over to her car, still to trapped in her own world to notice anything besides the playing field, and opened her trunk. Pulling out about three bags of snacks she walked back over.

They were still on the ground…she wasn't positive, but, was DJ snoring?

"Time to get up," she yelled. They didn't move.

She smiled, "Fine then," grabbing her 'Coach' designated chair she scooped it up from the dugouts and set it up right in front of the metal fence surrounding it. Grabbing one of the bags of chips she slowly opened it up, making as much noise as possible. She'd have to thank the soccer moms that supplied the money. Taking one perfect chip out at a time she bit into it, savoring the taste. "Mmm, this is good," reaching down for a drink she pulled out a fresh bottle of spring-cooled water. "Nice and fresh."

Kagome watched amusingly as their heads slowly looked up, sniffing the air. She reached back down into the bag and pulled out a handful of chips, 'accidentally' dropping a few on the ground. Their eyes were immediately drawn to the bright color, now they knew it was real. One by one they watched her take another bite, a few on their knees licking their lips. Deciding to go in for the kill Kagome finished off her water and looked at the empty bottle, "I went through it that fast, hope there is enough for everyone one."

She was suddenly thrown out of her chair as a pack of wild baseball players charged for what was left of the snacks. Deciding the bag of chips wasn't worth it, she dusted off her pants with a wicked grin and walked back up to the grassy and most of all shaded area. Taking another breath of air, she continued to block out last night's events, though, they kept popping up. Just watching the game was hard, she just couldn't concentrate. Why was this getting to her?

Inuyasha was just a job, a lousy one at that. He was right, they weren't friends, it was wrong of her to think they were. All they had was a strict professional god and goddess relationship. But why is it that last night is all she could seem to think about?

* * *

Inuyasha stared at the woman before him; she still hadn't noticed he was there. He wasn't sure what to think of that. One, it was nice because she couldn't make him feel guilty if she wasn't aware of his existence, but two…she didn't know he was there.

If she didn't know, she could care.

He had gotten absolutely no sleep last night, hell, he actually resorted to homework to get his mind off her. Anything to get Kagome's hurtful words out of his ears. He wasn't sure who to go to, nothing was as it normally was. He thought about the others but, Sesshomaru and Kouga, ya, they were friends but feelings just isn't something men talk about. Besides, his dumb ass brother would probably never let him live it down that a woman was affecting him so much. Miroku? That's it, take advice from the guy who gropes anything that moves.

He just continued to look at her. She was beautiful to say the least. Half asleep against the tree, shade covering her just right, it was like a story from a fairytale book, one that his mom would read him when he was little. The price would save the princess from the evil monster, to bad he was caught between the rolls of the evil monster and the would be prince. Maybe if the princess wanted to be saved too, that would probably help him out a bit. But what was there to save her from, she was perfectly content on her own.

Or was she? For the life of him, every time he looked at her, he'd hear his mothers voice whispering in his ear. Just like that night out on the porch.

"_She plays mother to everyone around her, helping them, telling them everything's going to be better, when in reality, she has no one. No one to lean on when in trouble, no one to reassure her that everything wont come crashing down at any moment. No one to help her stand, yet somehow she does."_

He closed his eyes and thought. She had to be lonely; he knew that if he were in her shoes he would be. But…maybe, maybe she had the goddesses to lean on? That had to be it, that had to be the reason Kagome was still able to function. She had the goddesses, they lightened her load, gave her someone to talk to. From what Sesshomaru had said about Supreme, well, what Rin had told him, she could brighten up everyone's day. That had to be it.

But…he doubted even Sango knew everything Kagome felt, and they were best friends, would Kagome really tell any of the goddesses? Even Supreme? No, he resolved, she had to talk to Supreme about her life, Kagome would go insane without some type of outlet. That had to be it; Kagome had Supreme to lean on.

He opened his golden orbs once again and just stared at her. She had to have Supreme, it was the only way. While he wasn't there Supreme took over, the goddesses had pretty much taken care of all of the gods other duties, why not this one? She had to be there, for his and Kagome's sake.

With that resolve he gathered his courage and attempted to walk over to Kagome, though with each step a bit of determination was left behind. What if she wouldn't talk to him, he had been horrible last night. What if she couldn't forgive him, not just for the last couple of weeks but the last couple of years? No, she hadn't needed him them, she had the goddesses, and more importantly, the Supreme goddess.

He was standing directly over her now, her eyes were still closed and her baseball cap was still pulled over her eyes. He moved into the small light that was covering her face, trying to get her attention but to afraid to use his voice. He wasn't sure what would come out at the moment.

"Hey, don't tell me you want to start already?" Kagome rolled over and pulled her had down further, "You've still got five more minutes, use them wisely."

He stayed there.

She grumbled, "If you're that bored run some extra laps, don't ask me how your able to move though."

He didn't move.

"Fine, I'll get you some more snacks," Kagome sat up and pulled her hat out of her line of vision only to clearly want to pull it back down again. She made a small gasping noise but caught herself mid way.

Inuyasha swore a tornado could have hit and he wouldn't have noticed, he just stood there, staring at her. "I-" but he was cut off by Kagome's glare and quick response.

"What are you doing here?" She was cold, calculating, nothing like the Kagome he knew.

Grace decided to save him, for Souta came walking up the hill not a moment to soon. "Inuyasha!" the boy yelled in joy, "you made it! This is so great, I was worried there for a second."

He watched as Kagome's glare turned to Souta, who she looked at with confusion. Inuyasha, thanking whatever god that was currently around, turned towards Souta and grinned. "I told you'd I promise to be here didn't I?"

"Oh man, this is awesome, Shippo's going to flip when he sees you! Come on," he grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and pulled him along, "I want to see his face. He's been playing catcher today, he's actually really good. I think we finally found Shippo a permanent spot, and it's great cause he's working with me and Kohaku. Did you see him dive for that fly ball?"

Inuyasha laughed, trying to see Kagome's expression as her little brother pulled him to the dugouts, but he couldn't catch a glimpse. He turned back towards Souta, "Ya, I pulled up right before that," and with that the two headed down to meet up with the rest of the team.

* * *

Kagome was livid, who the hell gave him the right to show up here! Oh right, her brother, still, that didn't mean he could! There is a big difference between being able to and actually doing, _would_ and freaking _should_ are two very different things! 

She stomped down and around the hill from the opposite side that Inuyasha had went down. Sure it was the long way but dam it, why the hell was he here? Why did he insist on screwing up her life? She was finally having a peaceful moment and bam, he shows up. Dam it all!

Why was he here? The concept of him standing there, talking to her brother just wasn't registering. She stopped and took in a large breath, holding back her tears. Looking up at the sky she exhaled, but finally gained the courage to look in the direction she knew he was in. He was standing there, laughing and talking to her team like he was a part of their lives. Like he cared, like this day meant something to him. How could he do that? How could he just act like nothing had happened?

She instinctively wiped away a stray tear. Oh that's right, nothing did happen last night, because in order for something to happen there has to be the something part. But…why was he here?

Kagome wiped away another tear, only to stop herself mid way. She was crying? When did she start crying? Kagome walked a few steps and quickly placed her back against a tree, effectively hiding herself from any onlookers or passerbies. She closed her eyes and slid down the trunk. Why was he affecting her so much? Letting her chin rest on her knees Kagome covered her face with her arms, letting herself cry once more.

What else could she do?

* * *

Souta glanced around the field one more time, where was his sister? He couldn't find her anywhere and it was almost time for the second half. It was not like his sister to be late. Ok maybe it was but not for something like this, she loved days like this as much as her players did.

"Hey kid, what's up?" asked a voice from behind him.

Souta turned to see Inuyasha looking at him questioningly. "You didn't make up with her last night did you?"

He visibly saw Inuyasha freeze and then watched as golden eye's glazed over, "No kid, I didn't, I think I just made things worse. I tried but…when I get confused or threatened I…I say things I shouldn't, things I don't mean."

"I've never seen her like this, I know her stages, my sister just doesn't get over things, not like this," he said silently.

Inuyasha placed a hand on Souta's shoulder, "I'm trying kid."

Souta smiled, "Ya, I know you are."

"So, what else in on your mind?" asked the silver haired teen.

Souta suppressed a blush, kind of. "Nothing."

Inuyasha smirked, "This wouldn't have anything to do with that girl up there would it? The one surrounded by all her friends? You know, the one you keep staring at?"

Souta panicked, "Am I that obvious?"

Inuyasha's smirk grew bigger, "Maybe not to most people but…so what's up with her?"

Souta turned pink, "Nothing."

Inuyasha was really having fun now, "As of yet right?"

Souta turned red, "No, it's not like that, she doesn't even know I exist, except for maybe what Kag's said and, who knows what horror stories she spilled-" Inuyasha finished Souta's sentence.

"Intentionally or tensional."

"That's my point, Kagome was talking to her for a while and then they pointed at me and it was just all so wrong. What do you think they said?" asked a very stressed little boy, "I haven't been able to think of anything else during the entire game."

Inuyasha sighed, "Souta, if there is one thing I know it's to trust your sister, I'm sure she didn't say anything-" he paused, contemplating how much of a lie to tell. I mean, could he really lie about something that big? "-_too_ embarrassing."

Souta threw his ands up and over his eyes, "I'm a goner."

"Souta?"

What? He froze, that was not a guy's voice, that was defiantly not a guy's voice. That was a girl's, and not just any girl's voice. What was he going to do? It was _her_! Did he need to fix his hair? Oh, his clothes were probably all out of place, girls really liked perfect, and he was probably all sweaty too! Girls really were into that whole hygiene thing. Maybe he could run? Maybe she wouldn't see him? Oh, that's right, she had just called his name specifically and was currently standing behind him. Maybe he should turn around. Ok, maybe he should and being able to were very different things.

That was when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder; he looked up to see Inuyasha looking at him confidently. It was odd, it wasn't the type of look a sister could give a brother, or a mother to a son. No, this was the type of look a man gave to a man. But more importantly it was exactly what he needed, he could do this. He could defiantly do this. With as much fight as he could muster he turned around and faced the girl of his dreams.

"Yes?" well that was odd, he was expecting his voice to crack midway through. Maybe miracles do happen.

"Umm…I was talking to your sister earlier and well…" that was it, his whole world just crashed, here came the horror stories that would haunt him for the rest of his life, he winced for impact, "we got to talking about a lot of stuff. She's really cool; we must have talked for at least ten minutes. She likes cooking as much as I do, she even said I could come over some time and she'd help me out with a few tricks around the kitchen."

Souta felt like visibly patting himself down. What? No bullet holes? No knives? What sort of torture was this? It took a few minutes for everything to register, he finally looked up at Hitomi and gave a classic Inuyasha befuddled look. "Huh?"

He was too oblivious to notice the blush forming on her cheeks. "Well, after we talked some more I mentioned how I really liked baseball but my brothers never let me play with them. She said that you could coach me for today for the second half and that I'd be playing on your team. But that' I'd have to talk to you cause well, I'd pretty much be following you around for the rest of the game."

Souta's Inuyasha face had still not gone away, neither had the thought process. "Huh?"

Her blush deepened, though again unnoticed by Souta, but definitely not by Inuyasha who was just a few feet away, wanting to give them some space but still step in if Souta crashed. "Um, I was wondering if I could play on your team, your sister said you were one of the best players and would be really good to have as a mentor for the game."

Single syllable brain capacity was barely functioning at the moment, let alone sentences, so he worked with what he had, "Sure."

Her face lit up and she jumped up slightly, "Really! That makes me so happy!" she reached over and hugged him, then, quickly realizing what she had done pulled away, her blush probably reaching down to her toes. "I'll, um, go get my hat, and then I have to find Kagome and tell her. Thank you!"

With that she walked off, a bounce in her step and she ran over to her friends excitedly. Souta continued to stand, and stand, and stand some more. He just looked at the spot where Hitomi had stood. Did that just happen? He would pinch himself but he was pretty positive he didn't want to be woken up. He felt a shadow behind him but didn't turn away.

"Smooth, but next time try speaking, just a tip, you don't have to take it if you don't want to," smirked Inuyasha.

A fly ball whizzed past Souta, completely unbeknownst to him, he was still in shock. "That…that was real?"

Inuyasha laughed, "That was real."

* * *

Kagome walked up to the pitchers mound and glanced in every direction, silently counting to make sure all of her players were still there. You never knew what little boys would do when unchecked, god the horror stories she had of Souta. It wasn't that he was a bad kid, no actually, quite the opposite. It had more to do with that he was well, a boy. That was really all it came down to, and as sweet as he was, he was still a boy by nature. She sighed, what was she going to do during his teen years?

"What are you signing for?" asked a smooth voice behind her.

Her eyes snapped open. Unbeknownst her, Inuyasha was watching her every move, her every glance, her every breath as it came out of her body. Watching Souta face his fears had oddly enough give Inuyasha courage. He walked in front of her, knowing she wouldn't turn her gaze away from her players, even if that meant she would have to look in his vicinity.

"I believe they call it a thought process," she answered frigidly.

"So, how are you doing Kag's?" he asked again, desperately trying to break the glacier barrier between them.

"I'm sorry, but observers should be in the grass or stands, not the field."

"Oh…is it a problem if I stay down here for a bit?" he asked almost timidly.

"Suit yourself, but stay out of my way," she tried to push past him but he followed her.

He watched as Kagome walked over to first base and readjusted it so it was in its proper line up, "So where are Sango and the others? I never would have pictured her for missing one of your games, or one of Kohaku's."

Kagome walked over to second and fixed it, though, it really needn't be. "First this isn't a game it's a practice and second I don't know, it's not like it's mandatory that she be here."

Kagome walked over to third, Inuyasha on her heels, trying to recover from her shutout. "What about Ayame and Rin?"

Kagome fixed third with her foot, evening it up with the proper lines. "Couldn't tell you."

"So you're here all by yourself?"

Kagome finally turned around and looked him in the eye, a feet she had been doing rather well at avoiding just moments ago. "Any other pointless questions? I really do have a game to be getting to."

He held her gaze, "Why are you being so difficult?"

She didn't let up, "I'm not being difficult, I'm just being me. Obviously if you think I'm being difficult then you don't know me very well, which isn't that difficult to understand since you don't," she tried to turn around but he caught her arm in his grip.

She glared at him and tried to pull away but Inuyasha wasn't going to have any of it. "I don't buy that shit Kagome, and I know you don't. I know you better than anyone, I know you better then your mother, then your father, then Souta, then Sango, then anyone. I know you better then Supreme ever could."

"Wha-" but before she could finish her question Inuyasha gently let go of her arm and turned his back to her, walking away and off of the field. She watched his retreating form but turned before she saw where he sat, knowing that if she didn't know, she wouldn't look. Kagome slowly moved her hand up to the whistle around her neck, but instead of moving it up to her mouth, she just held onto it for a bit, her grip clutching it fiercely. After a few seconds she moved the whistle up to her mouth and blew, signaling the games second half.

* * *

Kagome stared at Souta, who knew he could grin so much? It was kinda creepy. No really, he hadn't stopped since like, before the game started. It was really starting to freak her out. All he'd done when in the dugouts was smile while Hitomi sat next to him.

Unintentionally she made a glance around the stands, but caught herself midway. She shook her head, what the hell was wrong with her, that was the fourth time she had done that in the last inning. Kagome considered smacking herself but thought better of it. Why was she so desperate to know where Inuyasha was? It's not like he mattered or anything. But…what if he left? No, he wouldn't do that, he said he was here for Souta, but then again, this was Inuyasha. He was known for bailing out on due promises. Dam it all! Why was she still thinking about him? Time to get back to her idiot brother and his creepy ass smile.

She looked in her brother's vicinity, which was behind her, only to have to do a double take and spin around again. What? Kagome's eyes grew wide as Inuyasha sat next to Souta in the dugouts. There he was, sitting there, talking to Souta, like he was supposed to be there or something. What was going on in the world?

Kagome turned her back on the game and marched over to the fence. Banging on the flimsy metal barrier she managed to get Inuyasha's attention. She caught him mid laugh, and found herself even more furious. How dare he intrude on her life like this. She was perfectly happy before he decided to reenter it. A job is a job, no need to become attached, and she hadn't, she was sure of it.

"Can I help you Kag's?" he asked.

"Don't call me that, now what are you doing here?"

"I believe they call it watching a game."

"Get out," she said in a deadpan voice.

Inuyasha made a mock frown, well, to the normal eye it would have looked like a normal frown but Kagome knew better. "I'm talking to Souta."

"No joke Inuyasha, get out," her voice was still frosty and emotionless.

Inuyasha slowly sat up and walked over to the exit as Kagome watched him retreat. Neither noticed Souta's panicked look. Once again, deciding the players could have some fun without her watching them she followed Inuyasha and pushed him into the parking lot shoving him up against his car. His back made contact but he caught himself before he fell. He didn't know Kagome could be so strong. Inuyasha looked at her slightly confused. "Kagom-"

She cut him off, "Get out."

"I am out, you dragged me out here," he tried to move but she blocked his path with her arm.

"I'm not talking about the game, I'm talking about my life. Just stay out of it. Stay out of my life, out of my brother's and out of everything!" she was yelling now, something she didn't even notice.

Though, as hurt as Inuyasha was he didn't let it show, "Kagome you can't do this. It's not your place, you shouldn't have to do this. You can't cut me off!"

"You don't get it, there is nothing to cut off. You are not a part of our lives," the monotone voice was back. Inuyasha couldn't decide which one he preferred, the yelling one or the quite one.

"Please Kagome, I care-" but again he was cut off.

"You care? You care! Don't pull that crap with me. I know you, you spend a maximum of two weeks with a person and suddenly find yourself bored, so don't even pull that shit. If you really cared Inuyasha, you wouldn't have left me alone, you wouldn't have left me to rot. Well guess what, I've moved on, as should you. In case you haven't noticed, we aren't kids anymore."

She took a step back, her eyes revealing her furry. "Just leave me alone, you got what you wanted Inuyasha. You got a good laugh, now just leave me alone." Kagome turned around and walked out of the concrete parking lot, leaving behind a very broken man.

Inuyasha just stood there, leaning against his car door, her words ringing throughout his mind. He wanted to cover his ears, maybe it would make the echoing stop. He slid down against the silver door, eventually hitting the cold concrete.

God what was he going to do? He blew it. He completely blew it. Everything he had found himself hoping for was shattered, absolutely everything.

"Get out" 

Inuyasha covered his ears, it wasn't stopping. Why wasn't it stopping? He needed someone; he needed someone to solve this for him, to help him deal with this. But who was there? There was nobody, he was alone, utterly alone. And what's worse, it was all his fault. The one person he actually cared about wanted nothing to do with him. What was he supposed to do now? Inuyasha felt like he was a little kid again, crying in his room because something didn't go his way. But this was so much worse. He remembered how his mother would come in and talk to him, hold him, help him.

That was it. Inuyasha's head looked up to the sky, his mother. His mother could help him, she had always been there for him, no matter what. Inuyasha stood up and reached for his car door but stopped midway as realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He had missed his mother too, and not just over the past couple of days, but years. He had blocked her out, he wasn't sure why or how but he had. Kagome wasn't the only one he needed to fix things with.

* * *

Midoriko Toshio sat on her bed, contemplating what to do next. To say she was surprised was an understatement. Not once in all the years she had known Souta had the boy called her up. Nor had she heard of him being this scared. Even the boy's mother hadn't been able to cut him this deep, but the fear of loosing Kagome had struck the kid hard.

She couldn't blame him.

And loosing Kagome was exactly what was happening. With the fall of Inuyasha Kagome had reached her breaking point, all the goddesses had but Kagome's was especially hard. So much tension after so many years builds on a person, and unlike the others Kagome had more than what should have been given to her. No, Kagome had been stretched past her limit and was receding into herself. She was doing exactly what Midoriko feared would happen.

Midoriko placed the phone on her lap, closing her eyes with a deep sigh. She loved Kagome like a daughter and wanted to help, but what could she do? She could barely handle her own family as it was. It was heartbreaking everyday to wake up and not find your husband next to you, to know that your children have to make their own mistakes and even if you could, you can't help them because they wouldn't accept it.

She missed her boys, she missed them so much. Sesshomaru, yes, was not her blood son, but he was in her heart and that meant so much more. She had adopted him when he was just a child when her husband's ex-girlfriend left. He was only a baby, not a month old when she first met him. He meant so much to her, and saw him as her true first born, though, she did question how he viewed her. They now talked less then even her and Inuyasha. They used to be so close, he would tell her everything. How he hated his little brother and how Inuyasha was so annoying. How he would see other kids picking on Inuyasha and secretly tie them to the flagpole later in the day. Now their conversations consisted of nothing, maybe a nod here and there, and she missed him. He was always so smart and so caring, when he allowed himself to be.

Inuyasha, she missed her little boy so much. He meant as much to her as Sesshomaru did and was ecstatic when he began to talk to her again. And not just on a need to know basis with her prying him for answers but actual conversations. It's horrible, the feeling of inadequacy, of not being needed or wanted. She found solace in Kagome, something she thanked god for everyday. Though, unintentionally she had put even more pressure on Kagome and she knew it.

Midoriko eye's the phone in her lap. She had forgotten how hard being a goddess was, not being able to help them figure things out. Maybe just one call, they were her family after all. He was her husband, and she missed him like she never could have imagined. It just wasn't fair, that they all had to suffer like this. Just as she was about to reach for the phone an echoing knock hit her sensitive ears. She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe it was for the best, she really wasn't supposed to call him.

Setting the phone down she listened again as the knocking noise grew louder. Standing up Midoriko moved into the other room where the door was, slightly aggravated with whomever was knocking. They were incredibly impatient. Right in the middle of a knock she opened the door, only to be floored by what she saw.

A soaked to the bone Inuyasha, with various articles sticking out of his clothes and hair. And can't forget the ripped shirt, no, can't forget that.

"Inu-" but she was cut off by the clattering of hotel employee's running up the stairs. Inuyasha's face gave a mild panicked look as he watched the security guards and bellhop boy's alike stop in the middle of the floor, looking at him warningly.

"What?" she asked to no one in particular.

One of the bellhop boys stepped forward, "We found this man trying to get up to your room miss, and you specifically said no one was to enter without your approval, especially anyone with long silver hair."

Midoriko cocked her head to the side in an attempt to think, did she really say that? She didn't remember saying that. "You sure?"

"Yes mam," another answered back.

She looked at Inuyasha, then back at the security guards, "Positive?"

The first bellhop boy spoke, "Yes man, it was right after the man who kept calling you scared our temp replacement at the front desk."

Realization dawned on her, "Oh that's right. Forgot about that," she looked towards her son, "sorry honey," then back at the bellboy's and security personal, "and thank you, you did a wonderful job, I'll be sure to leave a tip at my door."

"Thank you mam," spoke a bellboy as they watched Inuyasha carefully, "we'll be down stairs please call for anything," with that they turned away to return to their duties.

Midoriko watched them leave, "Wow, they are dedicated here, remind me to come back next time your father and I have a fight."

Inuyasha just stared at her, "Next time? You mean there is going to be a next time? This isn't permanent?"

Midoriko looked at her son hopefully, though with a tint of sadness, "Come inside Inuyasha, I think we should talk."

"No, answer the question mom, what is going on? From the way dad was talking earlier it sounded like you were ready to finish things."

"Inuyasha, we're in the middle of the hall, I don't think-" but she was cut off by Inuyasha's stern look and demanding voice.

"I don't care."

She sighed, "No, it's not the end of your father and I, nor would I want it to be. I love your father deeply but…things haven't been the best for a while now and…it's really up to him Inuyasha."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I love your father more than life itself, but I can only take so much. Everything that happens with us will be entirely up to him," she looked up at the ceiling and away from her son's piecing gaze, "I've carried this marriage for so long Inuyasha, I can't do it alone. I don't even know if I'm what he truly wants. He comes home, eats, works in his office and then goes to bed. We barely talk only to have it carried out the next day. Do you know how long it's been since he last said I love you? To long. I don't need it everyday, just, for him to hold me once in a while, maybe pick me up a flower or two," she looked back at her son, "Little things count to us woman more than you know."

"I'm sorry, I never paid attention to things like that."

She smiled, "And nor were you expected to, these are my problems, not yours."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

He looked at his mother, truly looked at her for the first time in a long time, "I'm sorry I haven't been the best son, the son you deserve."

Midoriko could feel the tears building up in here eyes. Step by step she walked over to her son, to the boy who was more a man than he realized. Slowly she put her arms around him and pulled him into a gentle hug, a hug only a mother could give. "I thank god everyday for you, I couldn't have asked for anyone more wonderful."

She felt his arms encase her and squeeze her tighter, "I missed you mom."

Finally having the resolve to let go, and wiping away her tears, she looked back over at her son. "How about I make you some hot chocolate and I'll get you a towel to try and dry off. Maybe you could take a shower. Then you can tell me how all this," she motioned to his attire, "happened."

He smiled, "Your dedicated hotel staff."

Grabbing his hand she led him inside and headed over to the kitchen. She had managed to get the suite and was thankful for it, reaching over she pulled out a packet of hot chocolate and some marshmallows. It was getting cold out and her boy had no right to be wet. Well, it was sort of cold, well not really but she was a mother and it was her job to worry. Finishing up she looked over to see Inuyasha standing before in dry clean clothes. She smiled and pulled out the mug of hot chocolate.

They sat down on the couch, "Alright, now what is the real reason you came?"

"Mom…" he looked down at the floor, obviously conflicted, then back up at his mother, resolve in his very posture, "I need you to tell me who the Supreme goddess is."

"Wh-what?"

"I need her, she's the only one who can fix things with Kagome, I really blew it and I just, I have no clue what to do."

Inuyasha watched as a glazed look came over his mother's eyes. "Inuyasha, I'm afraid there is nothing the Supreme goddess can do about Kagome's current feelings towards you," she put her own mug down on the coffee table. Inuyasha noticed her obvious discomfort with the subject but let it slide for now. He needed his current problem solved, not find another one.

"Why?" he was starting to get frustrated, "She's obviously been by Kagome's side for a while now, I'm sure if anyone can talk to Kagome it would be Supreme. She has the authority and respect."

His mother shook her head, "Oh Inuyasha, I wish it was that simple, I truly do, but it isn't. Trust me, Kagome is the one thing Supreme cannot fix."

"Why!" he was standing now, desperately trying to regain his own emotions though failing miserably. He refused to have this happen, Supreme was his only hope, without her he had nothing. "Dam it why not? She fixes everything else! Is it because of me? This is her way of getting back at me for all these years? To not help me!"

Midoriko stood up in an attempt to calm her son, "Inuyasha, Supreme cannot help this time, trust me, I would know if she was capable."

"Why?"

"It's, complicated," she sighed in defeat.

"Uncomplicate it then," was Inuyasha's quick reply.

"Inuyasha, please you have to understand…" she started, but didn't have the heart to finish.

"Goddess stuff that you're not allowed to tell me right?" he answered back calmly, he too in defeat.

"I'm so sorry," she grabbed his hand, wanting him to know that she was there for him.

"It's alright, I'm starting to accept this whole goddess god function," he looked out the window only to be drawn back by his mother's firm grip. "I think I'm going to head home, I need to think about some things, are you gonna be alright?"

She looked at her son and smiled, "I'll be fine, but you drive safe now, and I truly am sorry."

Inuyasha shook his head, "No, it's not your fault, this is mine. I created this mess and I'll figure a way out of it," with that said he headed towards the door, stopping only before turning the doorknob. "So, can I tell dad you said hi? He's doing terrible."

"Sure."

With that Inuyasha walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. As soon as the door shut Midoriko felt hot tears roll down her face once again. "Oh Inuyasha, if only I could tell you why, but this is something that both you and Kagome need to learn. Just as it is the goddess's duty to keep in line the gods, it is a god's duty to protect the goddess's. Even if that means protecting the them from themselves, from their own destructive minds."

* * *

Firefixen73- Oh wow, I updated. I'm so sorry about the long wait, it really wasn't on purpose. School is so utterly crazy, my professors should be arrested or something. Or better yet, we should rally the campus and have a huge student union bonfire, burn all the textbooks, or I should at least be getting paid for all the papers and test I have. Something along those lines, I'm not picky.

I really will try to update and also I've been getting a lot of questions about Inuyasha's party behavior and how easily the goddess's forgave the gods. I'll try to post answers for that in the next chapter and I hope I will get everyone's. If not, just e-mail me so I can type you back.

So, **thank you** so much for everyone who stuck with me and don't worry, this story is still being continued. So again, thank you everyone. I tried to make this chapter longer because it's been such a horribly long time. I'm always looking for ways to better my story so your responses are great and gets the mind flowing. You're all the best!

Thank you and please review!


	17. Souta's Birthday

Firevixen73-Before I continue I had a few questions that I had to answer.

(1)One, I got asked about why the girls were so mad, it wasn't just because the gods were players or parting, it was because they weren't caring about others. All they cared about was themselves and no body else. They didn't care if they got drunk and killed someone in a car crash, they didn't care that they were breaking a million girls hearts by leading them on and running over them and leaving them as dead. Also, the girls were starting to believe that the gods were starting to care for them, falling into the trap they were trying to avoid. So, they were feeling the heartbreak they had been trying to mend while coming to the realization that the gods truly didn't care. Not about them or anything at all. That was why they were so mad.

(2)Ok, and second, about the party and what they had done. I've had a couple of questions about that, I left it open ended because I wanted people to come up with their own versions of what happened, what would be truly horrible for them. So if it was parting, getting drunk or womanizing, it was all left up to the reader. I didn't have any particular scene in my mind when I wrote it. Whatever you think, or want to think, that's what it is.

I hope that answered everything, any other questions please e-mail me so I can make sure I got all of your questions answered. Umm…I think that was it, sorry for the long wait and please review! They make me so happy!

* * *

Kagome continued to watch the game, but her heart wasn't really in it. Why did she feel this way? Why couldn't she feel happy again? Damn it, why was this happening to her? She was a good person; she did her fair share of hardships. But…it was just so much. With Inuyasha's sudden desire to be back in her life, which she was sure would last a maximum of maybe another week, and then her mother, and the god forsaken bills that were pilling up, how was she supposed to deal with this? 

No, she was Kagome, Supreme Goddess of Mount Olympus High School. She would pull through this, just like she did everything else. These depressing thoughts were just a momentary mental breakdown that she had to overcome. Overcoming obstacles was her job. She could do this.

Kagome picked up the whistle from around her neck and blew into it hard, "Alright, you all did awesome! Great game, Hitomi, I might have to talk the umpires into making an exception to this being an all boys team. Everyone else did great too, I'm really proud of you all. You guys can finish off the snacks."

The players immediately left the field ready for some more food. Kagome watched as her younger brother walked along side Hitomi. They really were a cute couple, now if only Souta could get the courage to ask her out. It was rather obvious she liked him back.

Kagome's smile dropped as she remembered her first love. It was Inuyasha. He had been her first crush, all the way back in elementary school. She was his best friend, but that was about it, he never showed any signs of liking her, so she had kept her feelings to herself. It was a silly schoolgirl crush really, one that was broken when Junior High was reached, when she saw how he really was.

Why was he so persistent? He was such a stubborn ass dog in need of some serious rabies shots. That's really what he was. Maybe she could bribe him with a bag of treats to leave her alone, it could work. He was him after all. Damn, she was thinking about him again. She really needed to stop doing that. She needed something Inuyasha free, something that he wasn't able to touch.

"Souta!" she yelled.

He looked up and came sprinting over, stopping just inches in front of her, "Hey, do you think-" but she was cut off by said brothers shushing.

"One sec Kag's," he scanned the vicinity to make sure no one was watching. Hitomi was talking to one of her friends, Kohaku was lying on the grass looking up at the clouds and everyone else was doing their own thing. He looked back over at his sister, "No one ever hears about this," he instantly reached over and pulled Kagome in a bone crushing hug, "thank you, thank you, thank you! You are the best sister ever, I'll do the dishes, I'll do the laundry, and I'll even feed Buyo. Thank you so much!"

He let go instantaneously. Kagome was shocked; he actually hugged her, in front of other people? Hugging, yes he did that, but never in front of anyone who could see. As long as Kagome lived, she was never going to forget this moment. Hell, she could be dieing in a dark alley bleeding to death and she'd still remember this. Kagome blinked a couple of times, desperately trying to grasp the situation. "Um…alright."

"So what did you wanna talk to me about sis?" asked Souta like nothing had happened.

She blinked again in confusion, how was he acting so calm? Like the whole world just didn't suddenly turn upside-down? "I uh…was going to ask you to um, find a ride home. I'm going to go out for a bit. But maybe I should stay; I think your running a fever. Maybe I worked you a bit too hard today."

Souta started blushing, "Relax sis, I'll be fine. I'll catch a ride with Kohaku. Are you going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine, why wouldn't I be? I just need to pick up some stuff for your birthday party in a couple of days. I mean, we just have a week of school then bam, my house is ruined by all your friends."

"Alright, if you're sure, but I thought we already got everything," said Souta somewhat skeptically.

"I just remembered something I forgot. I'll see you at the house…" Kagome looked over at Hitomi, "and no girls while I'm gone."

Souta's former blush came back full force, his face looking like a bright tomato, "Kagome! I cannot believe you just said that! What if she heard you?!"

"Then my work is done, see you at dinner," Kagome reached out to give Souta a hug but the boy quickly dodged it. She sighed, "I guess I should be happy I got that first one out of you." With that Kagome grabbed her coach's bag full of various bats, mitts and baseballs and headed to her car.

Throwing the bag in her back seat once reaching the parking lot Kagome tried to catch her breath. She just needed a moment, so the day could pass her by, that's it, just a moment. With another sigh Kagome opened the front of the car door and started her car. She was going to do the one thing Inuyasha couldn't touch; she was going to look for the ramen restaurant her father took her to on her birthday. Looking always seemed to cool her nerves no matter the situation. And one day she would find it, she would find it if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Inuyasha sat in front of his driveway, debating on how to handle his current situation. There was no one to help him, no one to fix his mistake. He wasn't used to this. There was always someone else to clean up whatever mess he had made, but it was usually Supreme. His mom had made it perfectly clear that Supreme had no control over the situation, but why was that? She had managed to fix all the other problems that had come up, why was this any different? What was he missing? 

In his frustration Inuyasha slammed his fist against his car horn, effectively waking up a cat sleeping in a nearby tree. Stepping out of his car Inuyasha headed into his house, maybe he just needed some time to relax. That was it, just some time to think. Was that how it was done, this whole sitting down and thinking thing was new to him; he was more of an action or spur of the moment type of guy. Inuyasha was about to head up the stairs when he heard a loud crashing noise come from his fathers study. Quickly turning around he opened up the large doors, "Dad?"

His father looked up from the ground he was kneeling on. He was picking up shards of what looked to formerly be a glass, "Sorry Inuyasha, I fell asleep at my desk and when I woke up, well, I knocked it over."

Inuyasha nodded his head and then reached into the nearest broom closet, grabbing a dustpan and broom. Heading back over to his father Inuyasha cleaned up the fragments while the larger pieces were hand picked.

"Inuyasha," said Inuyasha's father, "where did you learn how to sweep?" The man sat down again in his leather chair.

Inuyasha sat down as well, "Sesshomaru was watching a cooking channel, and switched it over to a cleaning special. Didn't know they had those."

Inuyasha's father's eyebrows rose slightly, "Sesshomaru was watching a cooking and cleaning channel?"

Inuyasha didn't even try to suppress his smirk, "Ya, you know how the bastard has to be good at everything. I guess our little episode in the kitchen really got to him."

"I guess it did," was all he said. Silence, that was all there was, just silence. No music in the background, no TV, no busy maids trying to get the house clean…no anything.

Inuyasha scanned the room, wondering if now was the right time to bring up the subject, "Mom says hi."

He watched as his father's eyes became wide and his breathing faltered just slightly, "You-you saw your mother?"

"Yeah, I went to her hotel. I'd watch out though, security is rather tight there. I talked to her about Kagome and…she misses you dad. She didn't directly say it but she didn't have to," Inuyasha looked down at the floor. The silence was back. Inuyasha looked out the window, wondering if he should leave, maybe it would be best if he did.

"Did she say anything else?"

Inuyasha looked back up at his father, "She said that she was tired, tired of not knowing if she was what you really wanted. She wants a marriage dad, not a business agreement," Inuyasha stood up, really not having the strength to look at his father. Walking over to the door he stopped, but didn't look over his shoulder, "When I asked what was going to happen, she just said that she didn't really know, because it was all up to you," with that he shut the door, but if he would have turned around he would have seen the ferocity growing in his fathers eyes.

* * *

It was late; the sun had gone down hours ago. She had completely lost track of time, hopefully Souta had gotten himself something to eat. He probably ordered pizza or something along that line, it was ok with her, as long as he ate. Kagome sat in her car that was parked in her driveway. She was never going to find it was she? It was almost like the damn restaurant didn't want to be found or something. 

Kagome opened her car door and stepped outside into the cool brisk air. It was at least one in the morning, and she had school tomorrow. Kagome quietly shut her door and headed into her house, careful to keep silent. Slipping off her shoes Kagome grabbed her purse in attempt to head upstairs. She looked over to see Buyo waiting for her on the steps, his eye's glowing in the pale moonlight.

Kagome smiled and walked over, "Hey boy, sorry I'm late. Did Souta get himself some dinner? What about you huh? That boy probably forgot to feed you again."

Buyo leaned into her nails that were currently being very generous to the back of his scalp. He leaned in further so she could reach his neck and back. Kagome smiled, "Alright boy, I guess we should get you fed."

Kagome, much to Buyo's disappointment, stopped scratching and turned to head into the kitchen, but not before dropping her purse on the railing. With Buyo on her heals Kagome quickly fed her cat and headed up the stairs. Before making it to her own room Kagome stopped by Souta's, knowing he would be asleep but figuring it to be a good idea.

She creaked open his door and tiptoes over to where she knew his bed was. Sitting on the very edge to pulled the comforter down to see Souta's face. His nose was slightly pink and his mouth was wide open, his pillow drenched in drool. Oh what was she going to do with the kid? Brushing a few black locks of hair out of his face Kagome reached for the foot of the bed and pulled out another blanket. It was getting colder out now, they should probably pull out the comforters.

"Sis?"

Kagome looked down to see Souta half awake, "Hey, sorry I wasn't home for dinner."

His eye's closed slightly, "That's ok, I ate over at Kohaku's tonight. He was so excited about today's game, I didn't get home till eight o'clock."

Kagome tucked the blanket in around him, "Oh, well that's good. So what did you end up eating?"

"Lasagna, it was really good," his eyes didn't even open that time.

"I'm glad, now go to sleep, you have school tomorrow," but it was too late, Souta was already asleep again. Kagome smiled and leaned over, kissing his forehead. "Goodnight Souta, sweet dreams."

Kagome stood up and headed for her own room, her lack of sleep finally catching up with her. She didn't even flick on her light, she just walked over to her closet and threw on the first pair of sweats she saw and hopped into bed. A few seconds later she felt a large weight on her chest, but she still smiled. "Hey Buyo, I was wondering when you were going to come up."

The cat meowed and Kagome fell asleep.

* * *

Kagome sat in the library, trying to read her book. Key word, trying. What was with the world anyways? Did it enjoy seeing her find new ways out of impossible situations? Kagome turned another page to her book. It was just…Sango, Ayame and Rin were bad enough, but why him? Actually, she really hadn't seen the others all that much this week, what with everything that has been going on. I mean, with yearbook obligations, the big race coming up and then the big newspaper article coming out, everyone was just so busy. So here was the real question, if everyone was just so busy, then why the hell was he still sitting in front of her just staring? 

Kagome turned another page, "It's not going to work Sesshomaru, I have Souta as a brother."

The stoic young man sitting across from her just continued to stair, "It will work."

Kagome continued to read her book, being careful to keep the cover away from him. Knowing him he had already read it and would try to tell her the ending like he had Rin. So, she did what years of having Souta as a brother had taught her, to just suck it up and deal with it. It was best to ignore them all around, so, she continued to read her book.

She heard him tap his fingers on the hard wood, "You are getting annoyed with me."

Kagome continued to read her book, "No I'm not."

He drummed his fingers again, "Yes you are."

Kagome turned her page, "No really, I'm not."

He stood up so fiercely the table shook and the chair flew a few inches back, "You are an impossible woman."

Kagome finally looked up from her book and looked him in the eye, "Shh, this is a library, you need to keep quiet," and she turned back to the apparently extremely interesting pages of her novel. Kagome wasn't positive but perhaps Sesshomaru had demon blood running through his veins, I mean really, the look on his face was classic. Scary as hell, but classic. Luckily, as stated before, she had Souta as a brother and could handle anything, so, she continued to read.

"Damit woman, go talk to my brother!" yelled the furious Sesshomaru.

Kagome, completely caught off guard, put down her book and looked curiously at Sesshomaru, "Excuse me?"

Sesshomaru looked Kagome square in the eye's, "Go talk to him, he is utterly miserable. He is barely eating, and isn't sleeping at all. He's as bad as my father. Go and talk to him."

Kagome had to give herself a few minutes to recuperate. I mean, what the hell? Inuyasha was fine without her, she had already decided that. He didn't need her and she didn't need him…but the look in Sesshomaru's eyes. His eye's said so much, too much, she couldn't handle it. So, grabbing her book and placing it in her book bag she sat up so she could leave.

Sesshomaru stepped in front of her, "Where are you going? I'm not done talking to you."

Kagome pushed him aside with an amazing amount of strength, "Maybe you should concentrate on your own problems Sesshomaru."

But before she could take another step Sesshomaru had grabbed her wrist, placing her in a death lock, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to pull her arm out, she wasn't that strong. She looked up fiercely, "I mean, you are still on probation, don't push your luck Sesshomaru."

"Probation? I don't give a fuck about probation! What I do care about is my brother! Go and talk to him!" yelled Sesshomaru.

Kagome tried to pull her arm out but his grip just tightened, "And what good would that to Sesshomaru? Your brother has made it perfectly clear he doesn't want or need me in his life, or did that little fact happen to escape you? For the God of Knowledge, you really should get your facts strait."

"Do not toy with me, you know as well as I that Inuyasha holds no control over his temper. When he feels threatened he says the first thing that comes to his mind," said Sesshomaru, completely disregarding the personal attack she was making on him.

"But it still came to his mind!!" yelled Kagome.

Sesshomaru's mouth closed, he wasn't sure how to respond to that, but before he had the chance to respond a very peeved looking librarian stepped forward, "This is a library you two, meaning, no yelling."

With Sesshomaru's sudden loss of thoughts Kagome yanked her arm out of his hold, effectively freeing herself. Grabbing the rests of her belongings Kagome turned around, "I'm sorry for the interruption, I'll be leaving now."

Kagome quickly headed for the door and towards her car, glad that the day was over. She didn't particularly want to run into Sesshomaru again. She would just have to work on yearbook at home.

* * *

"So sis, do we have everything for my birthday party?" asked Souta eagerly. 

Kagome pretended to think, "Um…I think so, lets so, the streamers, the balloons, the Barbie Cake, the-"

"Kagome!" yelled Souta.

Kagome just looked at him, "Oh I'm sorry, did you not want any streamers?"

"You are not on any level whatsoever funny!" yelled Souta as he stomped his foot.

"Fine, fine, no Barbie Cake. So does that mean you want me to cancel the Hello Kitty piñata?" asked Kagome.

Souta glared furiously, "Why couldn't I have had a brother?"

"Because you got lucky that way. Now either you call the bakery about your Baseball Cake or you are going to end up eating paper plates for dinner on Friday."

Souta laughed and picked up the phone, but before dialing he looked back up at his sister, "Hey sis, I was wondering if I could invite a few more people for my party. They don't have to spend the night or anything."

Kagome stopped her cleaning and looked at Souta skeptically, "More people? I thought we already invited everyone from your class?"

"Yeah, we did, they are from a different school and I just met them a few days ago. I don't even know if they can come or not, but I was wondering if I could still invite them."

Kagome looked over at the calendar, "If their parents say it is ok I guess I am ok with it. Just make sure that they have enough warning time, I know I hate it when you tell me you have to get a birthday present for someone the day of the actual party."

Souta ran up and hugged his sister, "Ok, I promise I'll tell them tomorrow at school, I don't actually have their numbers."

No matter what he said he loved his sister with all his heart. She did something that no other parent could, she understood. Right now was a perfect example, of course he was taking advantage of the entire situation, but that was beside the point. Souta had every intention of inviting Inuyasha and Miroku instead of the two non-existent boys in the other class. But…Kagome would find that out later.

* * *

Kagome was tired, it had been a stressful week, and it wasn't even Friday yet. No, instead it was still Wednesday, not that Friday was going to make it any better. She still had a bunch of baseball players to take care of at Souta's birthday party. 

Kagome looked at the layout in front of her. Just one more week till the big track meet. All the top schools would be there; there was even the chance that Mt. Olympus High School might not win. Kagome had been doing a lot of digging on the other schools and quite personally; this Naraku Onigumo was a little more than troublesome. Roman Empire Academy had always been a major rival for Mt. Olympus, and contrary to the front she put on, Kagome loved watching and rooting for school sports. As a goddess it was her duty to be unbiased, but damn it all, she really wanted her school to win.

Kagome sighed and temporarily put those thoughts out of her mind; she needed to concentrate on yearbook. The school paper was still doing a story on the yearbook designs this year, it would be coming out in about, Kagome looked over at her scheduling book, in about two weeks. The staff had decided on releasing three pages, and Kagome had already finished two. Newspaper was going to photocopy the pages Kagome handed them and copy them onto the newspaper pages. It helped yearbook desirability and gave a good moral boost to the students. It's always nice seeing your picture or someone you knew in the paper.

"Kagome, what are you doing here?" asked a loud voice.

Kagome looked up to see Sango standing in the doorway, "Um…working, what about you?"

"Um…I'm just meeting some one, that's all," she answered back skeptically, "I wanted to talk to Kagura about something, that's all."

"Kagura? You hate Kagura," answered back Kagome.

"Yeah, well, we have some common interests."

Kagome raised her eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yeah…can you leave though?" asked Sango nervously.

"Can I, can I leave?"

"Well, I really need to talk to Kagura and I…" started Sango, but she didn't finish, to embarrassed to go further.

"It's ok Sango, this is what friends are for. Not asking questions when the answers are obviously not ready to be given," said Kagome as she was packing up all of her things into her book bag. "though why you would want to talk to Kagura…alone…is beyond me, but whatever. Just promise I get to here about this later?"

Sango smiled and nodded, "Promise."

Kagome picked up her bag and headed out the door, but something caught her eye. She stopped, hand on the doorknob, "Sango, what's that folder for?"

Sango blushed harder, if Kagome could have seen the girls toes she would have sworn they were red. Who knew blushes really could travel down to your toes? Kagome through up her hands to stop any comment Sango might have slipped, "I take it back, you'll tell me later."

"Thanks Kag's, I owe you one."

Kagome smiled and opened the door, trying to figure out what else she could do all day. She obviously couldn't work on yearbook, considering the only other room with the proper equipment was newspaper and they were busy, and she really didn't feel like finishing her homework either. True, she had two papers, a couple of sketches for art class and a study guide to finish but she just didn't feel motivated.

"Kagome child!"

Kagome swung around to see none other than the Principle heading towards her, well, more like running, which was a rather weird sight. Principle Kaede was rather…old. She wasn't exactly fit either, so to see her bouncing along the hallways as she was made Kagome laugh inside. It was rather refreshing, it had been a while since she had laughed. "Yes Principle Kaede?"

The woman stopped before her and caught her breath, "Sorry child I have been meaning to ask you, have you seen Inuyasha as of late?"

Kagome's smile darkened but Kaede didn't say a word, "No," answered Kagome back to Kaede, "I haven't seen him, at least outside of class. He has oddly enough been attending all of his classes. Is there something wrong?"

Kaede shook her head in response, "Not that I know of, but…I don't know where he is going after school. As soon as the bell rings he is gone without a word. His parking spot is empty and is his desk is cleared. I called around but none of my informants know where he is, and neither do the other gods. Sesshomaru said earlier today that Inuyasha doesn't make it home till at least midnight each night, and their mother says he hasn't been by."

Kagome frowned, "I haven't been keeping my usual tabs on him, I'll check around though. None of the other girls know?"

Kaede shook her head, "No, since the ban has been placed they all stay clear of him. Normally this wouldn't concern me, Inuyasha is known for his brash and unmannerly behavior, but he has been so down lately. It's slightly worrisome."

Kagome's eye's shot up, "Inuyasha has been looking down?"

Kaede nodded again, "He mopes around everywhere he goes. I swear, the sun could shine on just him and he would still be shrouded in darkness. Pour boy, I wish I knew what has him so down. At first I thought it was the ban, but he is managing just fine with it, no it is something else."

Kagome hiked her shoulder bag on her neck to make it more comfortable, while suppressing a nervous glance around her, "Yeah well, I don't know what it could be, but I'll call around and see what I can find."

With that said Kagome turned and walked down the hall, leaving Kaede behind her. Kaede frowned and whispered to herself, "You are not the only one who is hurting Kagome, I wish you could see that."

* * *

"No, you haven't?…Alright, do you think you could call me if you do?…That would be great, thanks again," Kagome took the phone away from her ear and sighed, no sign of Inuyasha anywhere. Another dead and call, where could he be? She had already called most of the people on her contacts list but no body had seen the Supreme God of Mt. Olympus anywhere. It was starting to worry Kagome. She had always been able to find him…always. 

"Sis? What do you think we should have for dinner?" asked Souta as he looked in the fridge, "We really don't have much in here, maybe we should go grocery shopping."

Kagome cringed inside, "She would go grocery shopping if she had the money, she had spent most of it on this weekend for Souta's birthday party. They really didn't have that much left, but a kid only turns 13 once, there was no need for him to know they were struggling. Kagome wasn't sure what to do, she had contemplated getting a job but she knew she didn't have the time. With her goddess duties leaving her at wits end there was just no way, if she was going to find a decent paying job then she would have to quit being a goddess. Could she do that? Could she really give up what she loved? Kagome looked over at the bear fridge and sighed, she might have to.

"Kag's?" questioned Souta once again.

"Um…why don't we have sandwiches tonight. We still have some bread right?" answered Kagome back.

Souta walked over to the pantry and opened the cupboards, "Yeah, I'll make them tonight, you look tired."

He pulled out the bread and opened the fridge to pull out all the necessary ingredients. Kagome laughed and headed over to the cupboard, "Alright, we'll have some chips with dinner tonight too, what kind do you want?"

Souta looked up, "Cheetoh's?"

Kagome looked through the cupboard and shook her head, "Sorry kid, all out."

"Doritos?" he asked.

Kagome grabbed the bag, which was halfway full of Doritos and reached over for a couple of plates to place them on. She grabbed a chip and leisurely threw it in her mouth.

"Hey sis?"

Kagome looked up while finishing her chewing, "Hum?"

Souta continued to spread mustered on his slice of bread, "Is mom still not going to be here?"

Kagome stopped her chewing and placed the bag down by the plates, "…No, she's not."

Kagome clenched her fists, she wished the woman would be, that way she could make Souta happy by letting him think that his mother actually gave a damn about him, then she could leave a wad of cash like she always did and then Kagome could punch her as she walked out the door.

But then Souta said something she never thought she would hear from her younger brother's lips, "What about dad?"

Kagome's heart nearly stopped in her chest. What about dad? God what a loaded question that was. What about dad? He had never really asked about their father before, and this was one of the first times the man had ever been brought up between the two, aside from looking in the photo album. What about dad? How was she supposed to answer this? She never thought Souta would care, would want to know. Kagome closed her eyes, "No Souta, he won't be here either."

Kagome continued to pour out chips onto the plates while Souta made the sandwiches.

The silence could have made a mime scream.

* * *

Sesshomaru stared at the door silently. He wasn't sure what to do, he needed to fix this. He had to fix this…but should he really be here? He had tried to find a solution for the past two day's and had come up with nothing. He had never come up with nothing before, it was unbecoming of him, yet he was finding himself completely and utterly lost among the chaos. 

He raised his hand gracefully but stopped himself before flesh met wood. Should he really be here? Did he deserve to be here? Would she even want to see him, want to talk to him? What if she shut the door on his face? What if she treated him like he had her? What if she didn't love him anymore?

Before his resolve wavered he moved his wrist forward, effectively knocking on the cold door. He heard shuffling on the other side and immediately felt his stomach drop. He wasn't used to this feeling of fear, and he didn't like it.

Maybe he could leave, maybe he could just turn around before the door was answered. It was always a possibility, but then what if she still saw him? What would he do then? The door opened and Sesshomaru suppressed his instinct to run. There she was, standing before him. She looked lovely, even at this hour.

"Sesshomaru?" said a sweet voice.

He had missed her, he had missed her more then he had realized, "Mother."

They stood there, facing each other in the hallway for a good five minutes before anyone spoke. Sesshomaru, loosing his nerve as the seconds passed shuffled his feet a bit and turned around, "It was a mistake to come here, I will leave now."

"No!" yelled his mother as she grabbed onto his sleeve, "No, don't leave, please don't leave, I have missed you."

Sesshomaru turned around and looked at his mother in the eye. She was crying. He wiped away a tear with his finger, "I have missed you too."

He watched as she smiled and pulled him into a hug. It had been a while since he had been hugged so affectionately, with the kind of love only a mother can give. She released him and wiped her own eyes, "Please come in, I'll make you some tea. Green right? I remember it was always your favorite."

Sesshomaru suppressed a smile, yes, he had missed her. Only she remembered those little facts about him. Together they walked in the room and he sat down on the couch while she boiled some water. After placing everything on the stove she headed back over to the couch to join her son. She sat right next to him, something he was happy she did.

"Mother, I need your advice," he got strait to the point. Yes he missed his mother dearly but he came here for a reason. They could fix their relationship after everything else was taken care of. "Inuyasha is not himself. I need your help on how to fix him. He gets home late, will not, under any circumstances tell me or father where he was, and he isn't sleeping or eating."

He watched her face as she listened intently, but she still didn't say anything.

"What should I do, how can I fix this? Ever since his fight with Kagome things have been going down hill. Both of them are miserable but neither are willing to do anything about it," he almost yelled.

The woman beside him shook her head, "My son, what is the sudden interest in Inuyasha? I have never known you to want to help him quite so openly."

Sesshomaru thought about that for a moment. It was true, he never helped his brother, he was usually causing more problems instead, "Rin, her name is Rin. She showed me what it means to care."

He watched as his mother smiled with that knowing look of hers, "Alright Sesshomaru, this is what you are going to do. Absolutely nothing."

What? Before he could ask just that the hot water reached its boiling point, effectively cutting him off. His mother stood up immediately and headed towards the kitchen. After a few moments she came back with two teacups in her hands. She placed one down in front of him, and sipped her own.

He looked down at his cup, speechless.

"Sesshomaru, while I am more than happy you have discovered that you do in fact, not hate your brother, this is something he needs to do on his own. He needs to stand on his own two feet, and develop his own ground to walk on. He needs to become a man and leave his boyish behavior behind. You went through this with Rin Sesshomaru, now it is his turn."

Sesshomaru opened his mouth slightly but she cut him off, "No, if you really want to help your brother then be there for him when he needs you to be. Let him know that you understand, even if you don't really comprehend why."

Sesshomaru stayed silent for a while, then picked up his black tea cup. In all actuality it was a coffee mug but that wasn't what mattered. Lifting the drink up to his lips he sighed in contempt.

Due to his eye's being closed he didn't see his mother's smile, "So tell me Sesshomaru, tell me about Rin."

Sesshomaru smiled as well, when he opened his eyes and saw his mother's ecstatic face. Normally he wasn't one to talk, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be an issue tonight.

* * *

Inuyasha tiredly opened the front door and stepped inside his house. It was well past midnight and going on, he looked at the clock, damn it was almost two in the morning. It was getting later and later each night. He was so tired, Inuyasha wasn't sure he would manage it up there stairs. All he wanted to do was sleep. This couldn't be healthy, and now he was going to have to deal with his father and dumb ass brother too. 

"Inuyasha," said a stern voice from the shadows.

He grimaced, right on que. Why was it now that his family had to develop a sense of caring?

His father walked out from the shadows, "Where have you been? It is almost two in the morning! This is not acceptable Inuyasha. You may be my son but I will not stand for anymore of this! Isn't the display case enough punishment? Do you really want more? Because, I promise if the goddess find out about this there is a lot more they could do to you Inuyasha! Is this really how you want to live you life? Is this your way of getting back at me? Making me worried si-"

"Inuyasha," came another voice from the stairs.

Inuyasha looked up and cringed, great, another person to yell at him. Hadn't he disappointed enough people in the past week? "You here to yell at me too?"

Fierce gold locked with worn and tired eyes, "No Inuyasha. Go upstairs and go to bed."

Inuyasha nearly gasped, but found himself to tired to do so. What had just happened? Why wasn't he being yelled at? But Inuyasha didn't want to think about that right now. Before anyone else could yell at him Inuyasha slowly headed up the stairway and headed for his room. Before he shut the door to the hallway he could here yelling. It was his father and Sesshomaru.

"How could you just let him walk away like that Sesshomaru?! I am your father and the head of this household!"

"Then as the head of this household you should see that Inuyasha was in no condition to be awake, let alone standing. Even if I don't know what he is doing, or understand why he isn't talking to us, I do understand what he is going through and that there are certain times that you just need to do something on your own. Mother pointed that out to me today when I asked her to help me fix everything," came his brother's cold voice.

"Your…your mother? You talked to your mother?" asked his father quietly.

"Yes, it was a long and overdue discussion as well. I am going to bed."

And with Sesshomaru's last words Inuyasha shut his door and headed for his bed, not quiet ready to contemplate what he had just heard.

* * *

Kagome was frantic. There was so much to do. Everyone would be arriving in about an hour and she still had to set everything up, not to mention finish making the cake. Souta, last minute decided that Kagome's cakes were way better than anything store bought and asked if she could make it instead. Kagome was slightly glad about this because now she didn't have to pay fifty dollars for something she could have made herself, luckily the bakery didn't charge her since she called within the 24-hour notice time limit, but was completely frazzled by the thought that she only had an hour to make everything. 

Oh, and Inuyasha was still missing, he hadn't even bothered to show up to class today. Stress upon stress, she swore that was all this day was doing to her. But, at the moment it didn't matter because Souta couldn't have been happier. Speaking of which, "Souta, can you put the balloons up? And try not to fall, Kohaku can you hold the latter for him?"

"Sure," came to two voices.

"Well doesn't it smell great in here!" came Sango's voice as she walked into the kitchen.

Kagome looked up, but turned her head when she heard a loud splashing noise and then an unmistakable, 'Oh man, not again!' come from her brothers direction outside. She redirected her attention to Sango. "Already done?"

Sango nodded her head, "Yup, banners in place. Anything else I can do?"

Kagome smiled, "I would ask for help in the kitchen but we all know how that would turn out."

Sango frowned, "Shut up, a few fires in the kitchen does not mean I am completely inadequate."

Ayame laughed alongside Rin as the two carried in boxes packed of very full balloons, "You're right, but four fires, a broken microwave and a horrible batch of muffins, all in one sitting, sure as hell does though."

Sango clenched her fists, "Did you not hear me when I said shut up?"

Ayame giggled, "Must have missed that, and really, how did you destroy the microwave, you don't even use the microwave when making muffins."

Sango's face became reader as she contemplated this new concept, "You don't?"

Before anyone had the chance to laugh, or roll their eyes, a soaked Souta and Kohaku stepped in the room, "Balloon's are up!" they said as they saluted. Souta looked over at the box of water balloons next to his sister's feet. He switched his gaze back to Kohaku, "We got more of them."

They grabbed the box and headed back outside. Ayame, Rin and Sango looked at Kagome with a questioning gaze. Kagome raised her eyebrows, "Target practice. It's really warm out today. I mean really, it's got to be like 85 degrees out there, which is really weird for this time of year. Might as well take advantage of it."

"You are braver then anyone I know Kagome," said Rin as she shook her head.

Ayame agreed, "Yeah, do you actually think they aren't going to douse you with those?"

Kagome smiled, "No, remember I'm the coach for most of them. I'd make them run a mile for each hit and they know it. That and I am the one in charge of desert, one of the best parts of any party. Anything happens to me and they will suddenly find themselves eating carrots for dessert. Trust me, I made this perfectly clear to Souta and Kohaku."

Sango smirked from the other side of the room, "I doubt that."

Kagome smiled as she pulled out the icing, "Test it if you want."

"Souta, Kohaku, come here a second!" yelled Sango.

The two, now even more soaked boys, stepped in the room, "Yeah."

Sango picked up a balloon and casually tossed it in Kagome's direction. Everyone watched as it slowly headed her way. Souta and Kohaku's eye's got big, and in a flash they were running directly for Kagome, hands outstretched. Kagome on the other hand smiled peacefully and didn't move an inch. Kohaku reached for the balloon but messed up his footing and landed on the floor. Souta, seeing no other way to stop the flying projectile, jumped in front of Kagome, effectively blocking the balloon. As soon as the object make contact with Souta it burst all over him, effectively getting him even more wet than before. But before anything else even seemed to cross his mind, Souta turned around and looked worriedly at his sister, "You didn't get wet did you?"

Kagome shook her head then looked at her fellow goddesses, "Told you so."

Ayame's mouth dropped, "Now that is impressive," she noted as the two boys walked back outside.

Kagome followed Ayame's gaze, "Yes, it's a unique combination of fear, respect and loyalty. Don't ask me how I did it though."

Sango laughed, "Alright, back on topic, what do you have for me to do?"

Kagome looked around, "I guess you could make sure the play station is set up, and we have all the controllers. If you really want to keep busy you could try untangling all the cords."

Sango saluted and headed out the doorway.

Rin looked up next, "So what about me?"

Kagome looked around again, "You could pick up Shippo for me, he is supposed to be here early."

Rin saluted as well and headed out the door. Her engine was heard and Kagome turned to Ayame. "You want to help too?"

Ayame smiled, "You know it!"

Kagome laughed, "Ok, since you are the only one aside from myself who is even halfway decent in the kitchen, you want to help me frost and decorate the cake?"

Ayame lifted her hand in a salute but Kagome caught her, "I swear if I get saluted one more time I am going to rip someone's arm off."

Ayame laughed and lowered her arm, "Message received. What is the design supposed to be?"

Kagome laughed again, "Take a wild guess."

Ayame didn't even have to think about it, "Baseball."

* * *

Souta smiled as he blew out the candles on his birthday cake. Everyone cheered but he didn't notice. He was to busy contemplating his wish. Yeah, he knew wishes weren't real, but he really hoped this one came true. He'd give up everything he owned for this one to come true. It hadn't even been for himself, that had to have counted for something. 

He looked over at his older sister sitting across the room with a camera in hand. His wish was for her…for her to be happy. He knew that she was ok with how their life was going, and that she would do anything for him, but he also knew that things could be better. Maybe if their mother wasn't who she was, or their father…he wouldn't go there. He knew that he wouldn't be the person he was today if it wasn't for her. Kagome had raised him, from when he was a newborn till now.

"What did you wish for Souta?" asked Kagome.

He smiled, he would do anything for his big sister. "I wished my sister wasn't so annoying."

Kagome laughed, "Really?" she placed the camera down and walked over towards him. Souta could feel himself getting worried, she had that look in her eyes. That look was never a good sign. As she stood right in front of him she placed her hands on her hips, "We'll just have to fix that."

Then the worst possible thing happened, she reached over and hugged him in front of all his friends. He was mortified, even Hitomi saw. After a few horrifying seconds, she let his prettified body go, "That better?"

His face paled as everyone laughed at his situation, "That was so not funny!" he picked up a water balloon and almost chucked it at her until Kohaku tackled him to the ground. Of course, the water balloon went strait up and strait back down again, right onto the two best friends. Souta nearly tackled Kohaku back, "What was that for?"

"Dude, I don't know about you but I do not want to run a mile tomorrow," answered back Kohaku.

Souta nearly smacked himself, he completely forgot. She was so lucky that he couldn't currently do anything to her. He watched as her smirk grew, oh, she was good. She was really good.

"Souta, don't pick on your sister, she is only a girl after all."

The entire room turned to the new voice, only, the voice wasn't exactly new. Kagome stood rooted in her spot, unwilling to move. Souta immediately sprung up and ran over to the figure behind her, "Inuyasha! I didn't think you were going to make it."

Kagome took in a large breath and turned around. She watched as her brother bantered back and forth with Inuyasha, seemingly oblivious to her internal battle. The entire room quickly made it's way over to the silver haired boy.

"Inuyasha, you made it. Souta said you were coming. Hey, Miroku here?" asked Kohaku.

"Hey, want to finish out water balloon fight?" asked Rex.

Shippo immediately cut it, "He's on my team!"

Inuyasha was slowly dragged outside with the rest of the twenty or so other boys, each pulling him in their own direction. He was soon out the door, with out so much as a word spoken between the two Supremes. Kagome slouched in the nearest chair, Souta's and her conversation earlier finally making sense. New students…right, he was just making sure I had enough food for Inuyasha when he showed up.

Kagome let herself have a few seconds to calm her breathing before she stood up. Grabbing various plates she stacked dishes on top of each other, attempting to clear the table. Most of the cake had been eaten during her 'hug' with Souta, so it was mainly just plates and silverware.

"Kag's, you ok?" asked Sango.

Kagome didn't waver, "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" before another word could be spoken Kagome grabbed the pile of dishes and headed into the kitchen. Her friends watched her retreating form, silently praying that Kagome would make it out of this mess.

By the time Kagome left the kitchen her friends were gone, obviously realizing she needed space. Kagome continued to clear the table, she was to caught up in her own thoughts to hear the sliding glass door open. When she heard footsteps she smirked, "I swear Souta, a mile for every-" but she stopped when she noticed the perpetrator wasn't a little boy. No, he was a man with silver hair and doggy ears on his head…and he was soaked to the bone.

"Got a towel?" was all he asked.

Without a word Kagome walked over to the nearest linen closet, grabbed a white towel and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said as he sat down on the nearest chair. An odd silence engulfed the two as they did anything but look at the other. Well, Kagome was looking in any other possible direction, she wasn't sure about Inuyasha. She made a quick glance in his direction only to catch his gaze. He l was defiantly staring at her. She dropped her eyes immediately, he was still watching her, she knew it.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked finally. As much as she didn't want to talk to him, the silence was getting to her.

"I-" but he was cut off by Rin.

"Kagome, phone call," she said while walking into the room, phone in hand. Rin stopped when she saw who else occupied the room.

Kagome changed her previously defensive stance when she looked at Rin, "Who is it?"

Rin kept her eyes on Inuyasha, "Newspaper editor."

Kagome walked over and grabbed the phone, increasingly happy to have a distraction, "Hello? Yes this is Kagome….Thank you for what?…But I didn't turn in the final page yet?…No, I only turned in two…My staff turned one in? But we don't have any other pages ready…Yes, I understand…Thank you…Yes, I can't wait to see how it turns out…Thank you again…goodbye."

Kagome pressed the off button of the phone as she scrunched up her nose, "Well that was weird."

Rin, whose gaze had previously been lingering on Inuyasha, watching his reaction to Kagome's conversation, switched back over to Kagome, "What was weird?"

Kagome shook her head, "Nothing…yearbook stuff." She turned back around and continued to clear the plates.

Inuyasha looked back and forth between Kagome and Rin. Rin was obviously not going anywhere, he was apparently going to have to do this with an audience. He just hoped she didn't interfere. He stood up and walked in front of Kagome, determined to catch her attention, "Kagome, I need you do to something for me."

He watched as Kagome almost dropped the plates she was caring. Silence, then "You…you want me to do something for you? You actually have the nerve to say that you need me to do something for you?" She looked up and faced him head on, "Where the hell do you get off Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha stood his ground in front of the furious woman, "I need you to do something for me."

Kagome almost threw the plates at him but somehow restrained herself. Before she had the chance to yell she was cut off by Rin, "Kagome, I think you should listen to him."

Kagome temporarily lost all thought process with that small sentence uttered by her friend. Her world was crumbling once again and she, just like last time, had no say in it. She looked at Inuyasha, who was still looking at her, "I am not going to do anything for you Inuyasha, I want to make that clear. Now get out of my way."

He grabbed her arm, "I want you to go for a ride with me."

She tried to pull her arm out of his grasp but found that she couldn't, he wasn't about to let her go. "I demand that you let me go Inuyasha!"

His grip tightened, "No, not till you here me out."

"I don't want to here you out!" she yelled.

"Just come for a ride, one little ride Kagome, please," she could here the desperation in his voice, but shoved it to the back of her mind. He didn't sound like his entire will was shattering, he didn't, he didn't.

"Kagome, go with him. I think it would be good for both of you," cut in Rin once again.

Kagome stopped her struggling as the tears fell freely as she sobbed, trying to hold back her tears, "Please don't make me Rin. I don't want to get hurt. I'm sick of being hurt by everyone."

A new voice was in the mix, "Go with him Kagome," Kagome's head immediately sprung up as she heard Souta's voice finish his plea, "for me."

"Souta?" was all she whispered. She looked at Rin, then finally switched her gaze back over towards Souta. She would do anything for him, but this, this was pushing it. How could he ask her something like this? Hadn't she always been there for him? Hadn't she always protected him? So why was he asking her to face so much pain?

With an unknown force, she somehow managed to look over at Inuyasha, he looked so determined. She new at that moment that she had been defeated. Kagome bowed her head solemnly and nodded her head. There was nothing she could do, she would be leaving with him if he had to hawl her on his back and carry her like a potato sack.

She didn't see Souta's look of worry, or Rin's gaze of remorse. Nor did she see Inuyasha's look of hope.

Before she could change her mind Inuyasha took the dirty plates out of her hands, not even bothering to clean up the mess the cake had made all over her outfit. Inuyasha silently slipped her hand into his own and gently led her outside.

By the time Kagome finally looked up to face the world she saw Inuyasha holding out a green helmet. Glancing slightly to the left she saw Inuyasha's motorcycle sitting on its stand. She had always loved motorcycles, they always made her feel so free, Inuyasha probably remembered that. She quietly placed the helmet on and Inuyasha started the bike. Quickly getting on, Kagome contemplated on how to sit. Did she really want to hold onto Inuyasha? Did she really want her arms around him?

Then, with a start, Inuyasha gunned it down the street. Kagome, being caught off guard immediately latched herself onto Inuyasha's middle, holding onto dear life as he went far faster then the law allowed.

It wasn't before long that Kagome found herself being comfortable, relaxed. The tree's and cars were a blur, she had no clue as to where she was, but she didn't really care. But before long Inuyasha pulled over and Kagome hopped off the bike. The ride didn't seem that long but as she looked up, she noticed the sun was almost gone. They had been riding for at least half an hour.

Inuyasha turned towards her, "Kagome, I'm sorry. I hope this helps show you that. I've never been more sorry in my life. Not just for our argument a few days ago, but for everything. For the taunting, for the lying, but most of all, for not being there for you. And even if you don't forgive me, I'm glad I could give you this."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the alley. Kagome looked around, wondering where on earth Inuyasha could be taking her. She passed a load clothes that were hanging on a wire so they could dry, and then a pair of alley cats fighting over a dead mouse. Above her in one of the apartments she could hear an argument breaking out.

As they reached the end of the alley Kagome almost bumped into Inuyasha, "It took me all week, but I finally found it."

Kagome was about to ask what he found but her breath was suddenly caught in her throat. This was, this was impossible. She let go of Inuyasha's hand to take a few steps forward, her eye's not believing what she was seeing. How did he…? Kagome turned back around to face him, shock marring her features. He nodded back and pointed for her to continue.

She did just that. Slowly opening the door and stepping in the brightly lit room she gasped with disbelief. It was so wonderful. Kagome saw a large bulletin board with various pictures and soon headed over. One picture immediately caught her eye.

Kagome's shaky hand reached out as she pulled the old picture off the wall. Oh god she couldn't believe it. A single tear made its way down her cheek, which was soon followed by another one. In a matter of seconds puddles were on the floor on each side of her.

Kagome spontaneously turned around and threw her arms around the figure she knew to be standing behind her, and there he was, in all his glory with open arms. She cried furiously into his shirt, "Thank you Inuyasha, thank you so much."

Her grip tightened as he pulled her closer. In Kagome's hand she still held the picture, the picture of a very happy Kagome when she was just a little girl, no older than five. On her head rested a crown that said birthday girl as she sat in the lap of man smiling just as brightly as she was. It was her father and her, all those years ago. She had searched for so long for this Ramen shop, only to have it dropped into the palm of her hands by none other than Inuyasha himself.

More tears spilt as her nails dug deeper into the fabric of his shirt, "Thank you so much."

* * *

Firevixen73- 

No, really, I haven't died, I just was incredibly busy. I hope this helps make up for it. Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. I had so many reviews on the last chapter! You all are so wonderful! And just to clear the air, Inuyasha searched all week for the Ramen shop her father had taken her to when she was younger. Remember how he left her mom with all their relatives on her birthday and he took her there? This was the place she had been searching for. Hope you all liked it! Sorry if a few characters seemed a bit OC, but that's just my story. Sorry for the long wait. Please review, they make me incredibly happy!


	18. The Race

Firevixen73-

I know it has been for absolutely ever, and I'm really sorry about that. I would like to thank all the readers who stuck with this story and say a big fat thank you as well as apologize. I went through a lot this year and because of it I didn't have time to write, or have the inspiration.

Thankfully, I think all of that is over. This chapter is done and the next chapter is almost halfway through being finished. Originally it was supposed to be part of this chapter but I wanted to everything I had written posted, which is why this chapter is shorter. I really hope everyone likes it and thank you for everyone's support!

Here is a little reminder about who everyone is…

Kagome-Supreme Goddess

Inuyasha-Supreme God

Sango-Goddess of Strength

Miroku-God of Jest

Rin-Goddess of Wisdom

Sesshomaru-God of Knowledge

Ayame-Goddess of Art

Kouga-God of Sport

* * *

Kagome was amazed how this one event changed her whole outlook on Inuyasha. She sat there as disbelief and shock continued to course through her veins, all the while as she was attempting to eat her ramen. In truth only one word could describe what she was feeling at this moment, she was completely and utterly _floored_. Furthermore, said person causing all this turmoil was not helping any as he calmly chatted away next to her like the word had always been upside down. 

It was so weird sitting next to him like this, like their friendship had never taken a turn for the worst. Like he wasn't the biggest jackass on this side of the hemisphere. It was amazing to hear him talk so familiarly with her, like this was a regular occurrence. In all honesty she had no clue what he was prattling on about, she had zoned out at least fifteen minutes ago. Right now, all she wanted to hear was his voice. She didn't know why it suddenly felt so soothing to her, just that it did. His brash and untamed gruffness seemed so protective, so territorial, so completely and utterly safe. It was yet another thing keeping her pinned to the ground without the ability to move.

"Wench are you even listening to me?" said a slightly temperamental Inuyasha. Ok, more than slightly temperamental, in fact, he reminded her more of a volcano as it was erupting more than anything else. And that was when he was calm.

Kagome looked down at her food and took a bite of her ramen. If it was at all possible, it was even better than she remembered. "No."

Inuyasha's temper rose tenfold. "What do you mean, no?"

Kagome swallowed, "I mean, no, I'm not really listening to you."

Inuyasha squinted his eyes, "I like you better when you are quiet."

Kagome grabbed another spoonful of ramen, and looked at Inuyasha triumphantly. Before he could ask her what she was smirking about the spoonful of ramen was shoved into his mouth. "You should eat more Inuyasha. You can't say stupid things when your mouth is full."

"Isn't that the sweetest thing you have ever seen dear? Look at how in love they are, she's even spoon feeding him," said a gray haired woman as she walked past the booth Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting in. The woman's husband, the owner of the restaurant, was standing next to her as he smirked at Inuyasha. They had to be in their early seventies, maybe late sixties.

Kagome's face immediately turned bright red at the elder couples comment. The spoon she had been holding was instantly let go of as her hands were brought to her lap, out of Inuyasha's range. The spoon was left dangling in Inuyasha's mouth as the boy processed what was going on.

Inuyasha, seeing an opening, grabbed the spoon from his mouth and placed his arm around Kagome's shoulder. Pulling her closer to his body he continued to look at the older couple, "Yeah, we're hoping to make it till we're your age. So, do you have any lovebird specials?"

He could feel Kagome's temper flaring, but he was having too much fun to care right now. And now that he was finally admitting it to himself, he absolutely loved having her this close to him. He especially loved making her blush; with that rosy tint lighting up her features in a way only he knew how to cause.

The old man laughed loudly, "Just remember, even if you think you are right and all the current evidence proves so, your not, she is, don't ask me how but they always are…and when she cooks you your favorite meal, your first question should be why, and when she-" before the old man could finish his sermon his wife elbowed him in the ribs…not so gently.

"Only listen to the first one dear, you'll go a long way and will spend far less nights on the uncomfortable couch she will eventually buy just for such an occasion," said the old woman sweetly.

Inuyasha watched with newfound enthusiasm as Kagome's skin turned a bright ruby color, seeing as she was completely embarrassed by the whole situation. They weren't a couple, but Kagome was too sweet to correct the nice old couple on their obvious mistake, but she really didn't want this to get any more out of hand than it already was. Before the conversation could get even more off the truth, she didn't think she could become any more red, Kagome decided it was high time someone corrected this huge misunderstanding. Just as she was about to make herself known Inuyasha intervened and picked up a spoon full of ramen that was previously in his dish, forcing it in her mouth in turn effectively silencing her.

"Here have another bite," he said calmly as she struggled to get the previously forced food down without killing herself with a lack of oxygen. Kagome was too caught up in choking to try and hit him properly, that and they had an audience.

"So that is why we never got a new couch? That thing was horrible, gave me backaches that lasted weeks. Did you really do that to me on purpose?" asked the old man in disbelief of his wife's past cruelty.

The old woman shrugged her very tired shoulders, "Did you ever not apologize first?" She turned back around to Inuyasha and Kagome once again ready to grant them with her wisdom, "But you two seem sweet enough, perhaps you will be good and not force her to go to such drastic measures. My husband may be wonderful now, but it took a lot of years to get him this way. Don't forget that young miss, they never start off perfect." She laughed joyously at her comment, undoubtedly remembering past evens shared between her and her husband.

The old woman quickly refocused her gaze on Kagome and Inuyasha, "We will leave you to your meal now, please do take your time. My husband and I love to see you youngsters in here."

The old woman gently nudged her husband over to the back door but Inuyasha distinctly heard a "I wasn't that bad was I?" from the old man, followed by a "On our first year anniversary you forgot a present and for your 'homemade' dinner you threw spaghetti and ketchup in a bowl right in front of me and said 'dig in'."

"Something wrong with that?" asked the man as he opened up the door.

The woman stepped through it, "On our first three dates you had me pay."

The door shut before Inuyasha could hear the man's reply. With a slight pout, he was angry because he was not able to hear what the man said, he turned around only to stagger backwards a few inches. Kagome's glare was never a good thing to turn unexpectedly to, "Wha'd I do?"

Kagome's blinked a few times before the question registered, what did he do? He really was an idiot, "You let that couple believe we were a couple."

Inuyasha, deciding it would be best to not look her directly in the eyes, answered back casually, "So? They wanted to believe it, so I let them."

"That's not the point," she growled lowly so as not to gain any unwanted attention, "we are not a couple. You lied to them."

"If I lied, than you lied too," he answered back while taking a bite of ramen from what was originally her spoon.

"I didn't lie!" she almost yelled, but caught herself last minute.

"Did you tell them we weren't a couple?" asked Inuyasha while swallowing his bite.

"I tried to," she argued back.

"But you didn't?" he said while smirking.

"You stopped me," she said defiantly.

"But you didn't?" he said again.

"I…I…oh shut up," she whispered, defeat lacing her words.

It was silent after their little spat ended as both gods ate their food, each in their own world consisting only of their thoughts.

Kagome couldn't get Inuyasha out of her head. Even now her footing was still off. She just didn't know how to act around him any more. Sometimes he said something that made her toes turn red, sometimes he would look at her and her stomach would do back flips, sometimes he would say something and it would make her want to smack him, but sometimes…sometimes he would be so adorably protective it made her want to put herself in danger just to watch him come.

Inuyasha was having his own thoughts, all of which centered around their previous encounter with the owner of the shop and his wife. When the old couple had walked up they had shared their secret smiles, their loving bantering, and he wanted nothing more than for that to be him and Kagome. The idea of Kagome tossing him out on the couch for being stupid and argumentative thrilled him. The idea of making a horribly botched up first anniversary dinner for him and Kagome excited Inuyasha to no end. The idea of Kagome being his, and only his, made him want nothing else in the world.

* * *

Kagome hung onto Inuyasha as he effortlessly weaved in and out of the passing cars. He was taking her home, back towards reality. For her, tonight couldn't have been more enchanting, and the last thing she wanted was for it to end. She didn't want Inuyasha to go back to being the person he was before tonight, she rather liked this new and improved him. All she wanted was to relish in today's memory: in the way he bullied her into coming, in the ramen shop, in the laughs, in the awkward conversation with the owner and his wife, in the drive back. 

Though even now, with all its wonderfulness, she still wasn't sure what to think of her evening. It had been so perfect, apart from ending of course. Neither she nor Inuyasha had really spoken since their little banter. She wasn't angry with Inuyasha, not at all; she just had a lot on her mind. She just couldn't seem to concentrate on anything besides her own deceiving thoughts. Now that she really looked back on it, she should have spoken more during dinner, no matter her inner turmoil. Inuyasha had gone to so much trouble for her, it was the least she could do. But she hadn't been the only one quiet, Inuyasha hadn't really said much else either, and she didn't detect any anger from him. He seemed just as lost in thought as she had been.

She giggled slightly as she pictured Inuyasha having more than one thought in that thing he calls his head. With another laugh she snuggled her face into Inuyasha's back, trying to suppress any more abrupt laughs that he could possibly hear, even at their speed, which Kagome failed to notice was much slower than the ride to the ramen shop. Kagome breathed deeply as she wrapped her arms tighter around Inuyasha, unconsciously pressing herself closer to him.

She just couldn't help herself, she suddenly felt protected whenever with him. And his scent, it truly was amazing. He didn't wear any type of cologne; Kagome could never picture Inuyasha doing something like that, his brother yes, him, no. His scent was natural, she remembered it from when she was younger…but now it seemed more adult, manlier, and more intense than she had ever remembered it being. He reminded her of a forest, right after a heavy rainfall. Wild oak trees, pines, untamed rivers, wild strawberry patches; it was like wilderness exuded from him.

Kagome snuggled deeper into his back, wanting nothing more than to loose herself in Inuyasha's embrace.

* * *

The bike rumbled as Inuyasha drove into her driveway, its sound echoing off the houses and streets surrounding them. He did a small u-turn so his bike was facing more towards the street than her house. With a sigh Kagome gracefully swung her back leg off of Inuyasha's still running motorcycle. She carefully undid the straps on the helmet which he had lent her…his own. It was obvious he never wore it; this idea was only enforced as he slipped his arm through the bands. 

She giggled and he gave her a questioning look. Kagome looked up towards the street lamp by her house, "Do you ever do anything you are supposed to?"

Inuyasha smirked, "Not normally, my life tends to get boring when I do."

Kagome looked back over at him, a smile still gracing her features. "I guess I can be okay with that. After all, if you hadn't of skipped so many classes this last week you never would have found my ramen shop."

Inuyasha leaned forward on his bike. His body straddled the seat, his arms and chin gracefully resting on the handlebars, "You noticed?"

"Kaede asked me if I knew where you were since you had made it a habit to stalk me as of late," answered Kagome.

"Oh…Kaede huh?" If she didn't know any better Kagome would have said that Inuyasha almost looked _disappointed_ with her answer.

Kagome cocked her head to the side, wondering if she should voice what she was thinking, I mean, it wasn't like he would want to hear it or anything, but she had the sudden erg to say it out loud. With a sigh she continued, desperately hoping Inuyasha wouldn't make fun of her, "I kind of noticed before that though," Kagome's face turned a light shade of pink and she prayed to all the past goddesses of Mt. Olympus that the street lights were to dim for Inuyasha to notice.

Inuyasha gave her a questioning look.

"Well, I kind of became somewhat used to you following me around all day, or at least trying to pull some type of prank on me. Take your pick, I'm rather used to both."

Inuyasha smirked, "So you missed me?"

"No! I did not miss you, it was just…weird," she argued defiantly, even though she knew what he said was true.

Inuyasha immediately noticed he was laughing again, a feet he only accomplished when around Kagome. It was amazing how she could take him right out of his element yet he would feel completely at home at the same time. More at home than he ever did anywhere else. Without a second thought he decided to the one thing he had been craving to do all night. Something he had wanted to do since before that, since before the issue with the goddesses came up, since before she stood on his cousin's doorstep soaking wet, since before he was even elected a candidate for Supreme God of Mount Olympus High School. He had wanted to do this for a long time.

Without any type of warning Inuyasha leaned forward and pressed his lips to her rosy red cheek, "I missed you too."

That was all he said before he kicked his bike into gear, heading down the road before Kagome had a chance to react, or see his ever so brightly glowing blush.

* * *

Kagome leaned against her door completely out of breath. Her heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute and it just wouldn't stop. It had already been nearly ten minutes since Inuyasha had kissed her ever so slightly on the cheek…but she still couldn't seem to get a hold of herself and it was just a freaking peck on her cheek! It wasn't like he confessed some undying love...not that she wanted him to or anything. 

How was he affecting her like this? Where was all of this coming from? Weren't all these emotions coming on just a little fast? It was just earlier today that she couldn't even think about him without crying, right? And it was just last week that he annoyed her to no end with his stalker issues wasn't it? And he had only been the bane of her existence for the last what, five years now? What in the world was going on with her?

You know what, forget about her. What the hell was going on with Inuyasha? Since when does mister nice guy, who Kagome was quite quickly falling for, decide to make his appearances so frequent?

While trying to organize her thoughts she slowly slid down onto the floor, her back still resting against the wooden door. Maybe she wasn't really feeling all of these emotions, maybe all of this was just the cause of her excitement about the Ramen Shop. That worked…right?

Without wanting to stress herself about it longer, at least without any type of safety net to comfort her, she walked into the kitchen, desperate to gorge herself with the leftover bits of cake.

As she walked into the kitchen she paused briefly, something wasn't right, or more importantly, something was _too_ right. She quickly came to her conclusion, something was up…it was way to quiet. It was only 9:00; there was no way Rin would have managed to get the entire team into bed this early. Speaking of which, where were the girls?

She had to make a decision; she needed to follow her gut. It had never failed her before and her gut was telling her to voice two little words very loudly. Without a second thought she smiled and spoke her piece, "Three miles," she said loudly.

Within seconds loud groans filled the air. Drearily, baseball players of all shapes and sizes made their appearance. Two made their way from inside the cupboards, three from under the table, five more came from outside, and four spilled out very ungracefully from the pantry. Apparently the rest had already gone home.

"Three miles?" argued Souta, one of the ones who had come out from under the table. Kohaku was quickly behind him; he was one who had been waiting outside.

Kagome raised her right hand mockingly and counted their transgressions on her fingers, "One for thinking it, one for planning it and one for thinking you would get away with it, that sounds like three miles to me," finished Kagome, but then she smirked, "Unless of course you would like me to be really cruel and make everyone run a mile for each balloon."

Souta looked at the two balloons in his hand and the three buckets of balloons under the table. That wasn't even counting everyone else's, damn, she defiantly got them there. Souta turned towards Kohaku, needing to vent his loss out on someone, "You couldn't have just let me deck her earlier? Dude, I would have been a hero. I would have been cheered on throughout my entire mile for taking on my sister. Now we're all in for it."

Kohaku shrugged in a guilty fashion while looking around at his teammates, "At least its not four miles, right?"

"Get him!" yelled Rex. Kagome laughed as poor Kohaku was ambushed by his supposed friends. Boys will be boys, trust them to cause a war when there is nothing better to do…speaking of which, where were the girls. There was no way they left yet.

She cautiously headed over to the stairs since they had to of heard her if they were downstairs, "Rin?"

No answer. She took a few steps up, "Ayame?"

Still no answer. Maybe they did go home. Damit, she should have asked Souta before they ran off to vent on Kohaku. If either Sango, Rin or Ayame were in the house, they would have answered by now…wouldn't they? Kagome finally made it up the stairs and carefully switched on the hall way light. "Sango, you up here?"

Kagome jumped as she thought she heard something akin to a muffled moan come from her right. With her hand on her heart and her chest beating profusely, Kagome calmed her breathing down, just in time for there to be a loud banging noise from further down the hall. Kagome stumbled backwards and grasped the doorknob closest to her. Okay, she was starting to get a little freaked out now. She was a woman who was currently alone in a house late at night after all. She hated it when situations like this crept up on her, "Guys?"

She quickly grabbed the nearest object, a blue umbrella that she had left out from a few nights ago. If someone was breaking into her house she wasn't going down without a fight, one where she was kicking, biting and scratching her way to freedom. She walked further down the hall, umbrella ready to attack. She jumped as another bumping sound came from slightly ahead.

Prepared to attack furiously, never questioning why a serial killer would be hiding in her linen closet, she unlatched the locked door and swung it open, only to have her three best friends fall flat on their faces before her. Kagome managed to regulate her breathing before she spoke, "Why in the world were you locked in my linen closet?"

She didn't get an answer. With a frown she looked closer…was that duck tape on their mouths? Reaching over she pulled the sticky metallic substance off of her friends. When she was done Kagome once again looked at them questioningly.

Ayame looked up, seeing as she was on the top part of the pile, "Your brother is more devious than he looks."

With that said Kagome let out a small laugh and reached out her hand, in hopes of helping her friends up, "Maybe leaving you guys alone with them was a bad idea. Gods are one thing, a group of twelve year old boys are a whole other situation."

* * *

Kagome was finally getting ready for bed. After finishing all the cleaning that needed to be done it had been nearly one in the morning and she had barely managed to give Souta his present in time, seeing as how the present opening portion of the party had been done while she had been gone. So of course she had to give it to him before he combusted from excitement. Of course he had been up all night waiting anyways, seeing as birthday tradition states, one can stay up as late as they want on their birthday. Souta had absolutely loved his present too. It was a baseball signed by his favorite player. Good thing too, she waited hours for him after one of his games. Standing next to the locker rooms for four hours strait as a bunch of horny men looked at you was not something she had any intention of repeating, but for tonight, it was worth it. 

Souta had hugged her again; apparently it was a good year for him. She hadn't had this many hugs in such a short amount of time in a while. Maybe she should consider bringing around Inuyasha more often, he seemed to be her good luck charm.

Crap! Kagome smacked her palm up against her forehead. She couldn't even go a couple of hours without thinking about him, there was no way this was normal. And dam it, she had promised herself that this wasn't going to happen. She knew the signs, she knew the warnings and there was no way this was happening. She was in no way shape or form falling for Inuyasha. She just had a lot going on right now; everything was just happening at once, that that's why her emotions were so haywire. He had just been around a lot, and that was all, nothing more…so why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

"Oh God, now I'm trying to convince myself," swore Kagome, "next thing you know I'm going to turn into one of those groupies that follows him around everywhere and chants 'I love Inuyasha'."

With a deep sigh Kagome attempted to get back to work, but it was just not happening. Kagome took a glance around the now very clean room and then back at her toothbrush which was currently resting in her grip. What was wrong with her?

Kagome jumped when the loud shrill ring of the phone broke her out of her thoughts. She glanced over at the clock, she growled to herself. Who in their right mind would call her at two o'clock in the morning? Were they mental?

She picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey darling, mommy calling here," came another shrill sound that was unfortunately picked up by her poor ears.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she mentally answered her previous question, oh, that's who was mental enough to call right now. "Is there a reason you are calling so late at night?"

Kagome swore as she looked around for the phone company's number. They were going to have to do a lot of explaining when she asked why her caller ID wasn't working.

"Just wanted to wish Souta happy birthday," came her mother's voice.

Kagome momentarily paused, obviously considering what her mother was saying. With a sharp intake of breath Kagome took a giant leap of faith, "He might still be up, I can go get him for you if you want."

There was a slight break before Kagome was graced with an answer, "That's okay, just tell him I called."

Kagome once again saw any hope of her mother becoming a decent person extinguished right before her eyes. After briefly closing her eyes off to the world in hopes of somehow preventing her mother from hurting her further, she once again resumed her search for the phone companies number, "That's fine, I'm sure he's tired anyway."

"I would think, what is a boy his age doing up this late anyways? He's what, nine?"

Kagome was quickly losing her temper, the nerve of this woman, "Not quite, he's slightly older than that."

"Whatever, I just wanted to call. I'm off-"

"Wait!" yelled Kagome before her mother could hang up. She bit her tongue as she waited for the dial tone to emerge. Surprisingly enough it didn't, though Kagome really couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"Well? If you are just wasting my time girl, daughter or not, I want you to know I have better things to do than standing here listening to you breathe," came the sharp reply to Kagome's silence.

Damn, of all the things she wanted to do today, groveling on hands and knees to her mother was not one of them. She could only imagine the consequences of such actions but…as long as one of the possible outcomes was a probability, even if a small one, she still needed to try.

"It's about the mortgage, I can't pay it. Souta and I don't have enough money for food either," came her slow response to her mothers temper.

She heard a huff on the other end of the phone, "Dam it Kagome, you need to learn proper money management. What in the world are you spending all the money I send you on? Your brother should be our first priority, not some nail job at the local salon," ranted her mother.

Kagome bit her tongue in order to keep herself silent but damn it was hard. Money management? Was she joking? She didn't even have a job, she was a professional girlfriend, the kind that you usually hired. And if Souta wasn't her first priority she wouldn't on any level still have any type of contact with this creature who called herself a mother! Kagome bit harder when she tasted blood.

After a long pause she waited for her mother's reply. There was a frustrated growl on the other end and Kagome could tell her mother was pacing. Now in what city her mother happened to be pacing in Kagome could only take guesses, Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, they were all possibilities.

"Fine," came the reply, "I'll wire you some money, but I'm sick of paying everything for you. Can't you get a job or something?"

"I have a job mother, just not one I get paid for," came Kagome's subtle response. Her mother had agreed to foot her bills, she could not start an argument now of all times.

"Well then I suggest you get a better one, one that will help you in life. And what type of job don't you get paid for anyways? I swear, you are more like your wretched father every damn day Kagome. I'll wire you your money tomorrow, way to ruin your own mother's day. I hope you are happy."

The dial tone went dead and Kagome stood there in place while in utter shock. Did she really just have that conversation? Had that _woman_ really just said that to her?

You have got to be kidding me! Kagome slammed the phone down back onto the receiver. Kagome ruined _her_ day! _Her_ day! What about her daughter's day? What about Souta's day! What about every fucking day of her life!

Kagome started pacing around in her room, unable to comprehend the conversation previously at hand. There was just no way this was happening, no possible way. And to compare her to her father? That was going too far. If she was like her father she would have left by now, forgetting about Souta, and Buyo, about the goddesses, about everything. But she hadn't done that, she hadn't left!

Kagome growled to herself, this just wasn't fair. By all standers no matter how adult she acted she wasn't an adult. She couldn't legally adopt Souta to try to take him away from their mother, she couldn't support them financially, not in the way parents would be able to, and she didn't have the means to even begin to try to. She didn't have anywhere else to go, that was the only reason she hadn't grabbed Souta and ran as far away as possible. Her mother was her only option.

Kagome sat carefully sat down on her bed and looked out her window, desperately trying to pacify herself. With everything else she was already facing her mother's wonderful personality was not something else she needed right now. Besides, this week was going to be crazy enough, with the whole school so excited about the race next Saturday.

* * *

Kagome looked over at her three best friends skeptically as they ate their meals underneath their favorite tree. Kagome saw Ayame glance in her direction but she immediately shot it down before any words could be spoken. With one glance Ayame made sure to look the other way. 

Kagome took a bite out of her lunch only to catch Rin's hand lingering a little too closely to the remainder of her meal. With one fowl swoop Kagome's entire lunch bag sat in her lap, and Rin's face dropped.

"Hey Kagome," came Sango's voice, but Kagome cut her off before the question could be asked.

"No," was all she said.

"But-" continued Sango.

"Not going to happen," finished Kagome.

"That's not fai-" started Sango once again.

"If you asked again Ill give some to Ayame and Rin and have you watch," said Kagome sternly.

Ayame and Rin seemed to perk up at that statement, "Oh come on Sango, ask again!" yelled Ayame excitedly.

"Take one for the team girl," continued Rin.

"Please, if I don't get any, no body's getting any," said Sango angrily.

Kagome smiled as she watched her friends in their death glare match. With a slight laugh she took another bite into her pancakes. Thanks to her mother Kagome hadn't been able to sleep all night last night. So, inorder to keep herself busy and her mind off the previous conversation at hand she ended up cooking. And to add to her stress it had been a long and grueling day of classes and under no circumstances were they getting a hold of this batch, that was for sure.

* * *

Kaede looked at Kagome from across her desk, "How are you doing child, it has been some time since we last spoke." 

Kagome smiled, "Fine, I am almost done preparing everything for the race this Saturday, we just have to have a few more of the stands made and it should be done."

Kaede smiled, "Only two more days, are you sure you have everything in order?"

"As far as I know, hopefully no last minute surprises will show up," was Kagome's friendly reply.

"And Inuyasha and the others?" pressed Kaede.

"Inuyasha? Is there something I should know about him? I thought he and the others were all doing pretty well," asked Kagome confusedly.

"No, I was just wondering if they are ready for their race. Their win will mean a lot to the school, and not just in the moral sense either. The more publicity the better, I would hate to see another school walk away with our trophies and sponsorships," said Kaede.

"Don't worry, they want to win this just as badly as we want them to win this…as far as I can tell anyways. I haven't seen Inuyasha most of the week though, I heard he's staying late to turn in some late work that he missed over the past week," said Kagome with a giggle.

"Yes, you did work wonders on that boy. He's usually so rash and impulsive, it is nice to see that he is growing up, if just a little."

* * *

The school was crazy; that was her final conclusion Kagome had reached. The entire school was insane. Three hours, three freaking more hours and people were already showing up to claim their seats. Kagome shook her head and tried to think about something else, but damn, it was eight in the morning on a Saturday, why would someone do this to themselves willingly? She was only here because she had no choice in the matter. 

Kagome looked back over at the volunteers, still shaking her head in amazement, "Alright, we are going to need all the booths to be standing before we can move anything else in, so you seven take the booths on this list, Sango will help you. Your nine take this list, Ayame is already over there trying to get a head start, she already has one up, and you six go will be with Rin, she should be here in a few minutes. In the mean time scout the area to make sure there is no trash or anything. Alright, see you in an hour, hopefully all the stands will be set up by then."

Kagome looked back down at her clipboard to see what she had to do next. Setting up for the big race was always such a hassle. There was just so much to do, booths for food, ticket stands, bleachers, booths for games, prizes, and then you had to try to organize everything! It was one thing to put it together but making it organized was a whole other matter.

"Kagome?"

Kagome turned around and smiled, "Hello Kaede, what are you doing here so early? You know it is the goddess's job to handle school events."

"Oh, I know, I just wanted to see how everything was coming along," she said softly, "but just out of curiosity, how early did these people come to claim their seats on the bleachers?"

Kagome covered her laughter with the clipboard that was conveniently moved in front of her face. Quickly placing it back to her side, she smiled, "I have no idea, most of them were hear when I showed up."

"But, there has to be at least 100 of them!"

"Don't I know it. You should have heard them complaining while we set up the bleachers," laughed Kagome again.

Kaede let out a small laugh before she looked back over at Kagome, "Child, are you sure you are okay, you seem a little…worried."

Kagome paused for a moment and then shook her head, "It is nothing to worry about. I just, have this weird feeling something is going to happen today, that's all. I'm sure it's nothing."

With that said the two very influential people returned to their previous jobs.

* * *

It had taken almost an hour and a half but most of the booths where now standing. Thankfully the students from the art classes had agreed to decorate the signs, so it was one less thing Kagome had to think about. Lets see, there where about seven booths for regular food, three for desert, random drink stations everywhere, four game stations, more which where being set up, and- 

"Kagome!" yelled a familiar voice.

Kagome looked up to see Ayame waving at her, "We just did a sweep over the track area and they are doing another bleacher check. Anything else you need help with?"

Kagome looked down at her checklist, "Um…ya. Could you take your team and help set up the bungee cord trampoline?"

Ayame raised her hand to salute, but Kagome cut her off, "We talked about this."

Ayame looked at her hand and lowered it, "So we did. I'll take my team and help the workers," and with that said Ayame was gone.

With another glance at her checklist Kagome sighed, hopefully nothing would go wrong today…but everything was just working out to perfectly. The weather was great, at least for now, the storm wasn't supposed to hit until later, and the stands and bleachers hadn't put up a fuss, everyone was showing up on time and her mother had yet to call her this week. So why did it feel like something horrible was going to happen. Kagome's instincts were very rarely wrong, so what could it be…they weren't going to lose were they?

* * *

Kagome stood at the very top of the bleachers watching as everyone took their seats once again. They were on the last race of the day, the mile run and it was Mt. Olympus in the lead, score wise, but only by one race. If Roman Empire Academy won this it would be tied, and we could not afford a tie, we needed a clean win or Roman Academy would figure out how to count this as a win towards them. The last thing Kagome wanted to deal with was their school complaining about unfair calls. 

Kaede stood on the ground, speakerphone in her hand. It was time for the race and everyone was psyched about it. This was one of the biggest events of the year, every major school in the state made it here, which of course included Roman Empire Academy, their arch rival. As the supreme Goddess Kagome was supposed to be loving and compassionate to everyone, but…that school was just plain awful. They held no morals and found twisted pleasure in tormenting others. They weren't mean to prove a point, or to even get even with someone else, they were mean just to be mean, just to see others struggle. There was a reason all the other schools clustered behind Mt. Olympus when given the chance, it was because everyone has at one time or another been victimized my Roman Empire Academy, and Mt. Olympus was the only school to be any sort of threat to them, let alone stand up to them. Oh, and don't even get her started on Naraku Onigumo. The man seemed to have a sick obsession with her, and whether it was love or hate, the man could never decide.

"Students, please settle down, the final race is going to begin soon. I am Principle Kaede of Mt. Olympus High School and I would just like to say thank you to everyone who came today. I'm glad to see that each one of you are so supportive of your appropriate schools. I wish the best of luck to all of our young racers and I only ask for a fun, chivalrous and clean race. Runners, please take your marks," said Kaede while motioning to the track course.

Kagome watched as individual racers walked up from their bleacher positions and headed over to their assigned track. Kagome leaned forward as she watched the four gods of Mt. Olympus take their marks. Kagome bit her bottom lip when she noticed their start up positions. Shoot, this wasn't good, Naraku was in between Kouga and Inuyasha. This was not going to end fair, that man had never fought and honorable fight in his life, let alone a clean match. To add to that the man had always hated Inuyasha. Naraku would never pass an opportunity like this up.

"Get set!" yelled Kaede.

Kagome watched as the runners steadied themselves, each anticipating the upcoming run.

"Go!" and a loud bang was heard signifying the beginning of the mile race. She watched as Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Kouga raced neck and neck, Naraku and three other runners whose names she did not know, closely behind them. A runner fell and Naraku picked up speed. Kagome almost lashed out when she saw Naraku's foot move just slightly to the side, not enough to be called on or noticed, and trip another runner.

Sesshomaru slowed down when the person behind him rolled off the track and into a booth. He nearly stopped in order to check to make sure the man was alright since that fall could have easily knocked him out. Obviously Kagome wasn't the only one who had seen foul play on Naraku's part.

Kagome smiled at Sesshomaru's new sense of compassion. A month or two ago Sesshomaru never would have stopped anything he was doing, let alone in the middle of a race, to make sure someone was uninjured. He had just sabotaged his own possible win for someone else's welfare.

Rin had done a good job with him, and that was all she was going to say about the matter. That and she was unbelievably proud of her friends.

Kagome refocused her attention on the race, realizing how vital it was for her to watch the final outcome. This was it, Naraku and his teammate versus Inuyasha and Kouga. Kagome resisted biting her nails out of anxiousness. It was the third lap and it was obvious one of the four would win, though Kagome doubted Naraku would let another person, let alone teammate, beat him in something, so why hadn't he taken out his own man like he had all the others.

Then it happened, Naraku's teammate smirked, and then tripped, right on Kouga, effectively knocking him out of the game.

It hit Kagome like a ton of bricks, this had been Naraku's plan all along, he couldn't beat the gods on his own, so he had his subordinates take them out instead. Kagome stood up as she saw Kouga stand up and look helplessly at the finish line, and then that helpless look turned to anger when it focused on Naraku. Kagome wasn't the only one who figured out Naraku's plan, and from Ayame's gasp a couple of bleachers down, her and Kouga weren't alone.

Kagome made a quick glance at the judge who should have called that. Obviously he was a Roman Empire Academy fan, anyone could have seen that was foul play. Even the other schools were booing at the act.

Kagome watched as two water boys ran over to the start/finish line, putting up the blue ribbon across the posts as the runners entered their final run around the track. Angrily she redirected her gaze over at the two remaining lead runners. It was just Inuyasha and Naraku now, neck and neck. Oddly enough, he hadn't tried anything with Inuyasha yet.

Kagome looked over at the giant digital clock on the screen recording their time. Her mouth almost dropped, because the state record was about to be broken, and either Naraku or Inuyasha was going to be the one that broke it. Everything depended on who came out first in this race. That must be why Naraku hasn't tried anything on Inuyasha, too many people were now going to be watching this race. He didn't just have to worry about the judge, but any scouts or reporters watching this. Everyone was watching; footwork, breathing, posture, hands, everything. The man was under a microscope and he couldn't risk a false move.

She immediately looked back over at the race at hand. But they were just so close, literally neck and neck. It was very possible that Inuyasha could loose this race if Naraku kept up this speed. And she had to admit, Naraku was fast if he could keep up with Inuyasha for this long. All she could do is hope he wasn't saving up for a massive sprint towards the finish line. One that would leave Inuyasha is second, because there was no way this man was beating her or her school. He didn't deserve the title.

The two were almost done with their last lap, and the circumstances hadn't changed. Both where tied for first, neck and neck as they raced against each other.

And then it happened, even from this distance Kagome could see it on his face, in his demeanor, she could feel it emanating off of his body. It was a look of sheer determination that crossed Inuyasha's face. A look of pure passion, pure adrenaline, of pure desire. Suddenly, he didn't look human, he looked like a demon on the rampage with one goal in mind, destruction, and that destruction was directed towards Naraku.

With a speed Kagome couldn't even fathom Inuyasha sprinted forward, forcing himself to reach a speed unknown to man. Then, with the flashing of a camera it was over, and there Inuyasha laid on the ground, panting and out of breath, the winners ribbon line twisted around his body.

"And we have a new record!" screamed the commentator, and with that the entire crowd burst into cheers, cutting out the surrounding music and the speakerphones. Exited beyond belief Kagome ran down the bleachers strait for Inuyasha, ready to congratulate him for his amazing win. She jumped over backpacks, celebrating students, ecstatic teachers and parents until she reached the ground.

With one look she was able to pinpoint a very happy but very exhausted Inuyasha sitting on the floor, struggling to catch his breath in order to stand back up, with Naraku a few yards away from him, panting is disbelief. Without a moment's hesitation she ran over and fell onto Inuyasha's struggling form. He immediately landed back on the ground, Kagome on top of him.

"You won! I can't believe you beat that jerk! And you set a new record too! Please tell me you are as excited as I am!" she squealed happily as she hugged him.

She watched as Inuyasha smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm happy. Happier that I had you cheering for me though."

Kagome could feel a blush rising on her cheeks, "Shut up and be happy for yourself. How you find so much pleasure in publically humiliating me is beyond my comprehension. And here I was trying to be happy for you."

Inuyasha pulled her to him unexpectedly and she felt her temperature rise. It defiantly wasn't until now that she realized she was sitting on his lap and he was holding her very closely. Before the situation could register fully, a new voice broke into their conversation.

"Nicely done my boy," came a very unexpected voice from behind them.

Inuyasha released Kagome and she quickly stood up, still trying to sort how Inuyasha was acting around her.

"Dad?"

Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha's father walking towards them and her face immediately paled. Oh this was not good at all, _so_ not good.

She glanced towards Inuyasha, and then his father, then back at Inuyasha again. Before his father had the chance to reach them Kagome swung Inuyasha towards her, "You should go out to lunch with him or something, just the two of you. If you want Sesshomaru to join you just tell me where to tell him where to meet you. So where do you two want to go?"

"What? Why would I want to go anywhere, there's plenty of food here, besides, I wasn't expecting dad to come. This is defiantly a surprise for me, he must want to be here," was all Inuyasha said before he headed over to greet his father.

Kagome cautiously followed them, all the while nervously glancing around for a certain someone. Her eyes widened, "Too late," she whispered.

"To late for what?" asked Inuyasha and his father at the same time.

She sighed, "Inuyasha, did I ever tell you that I'm actually on pretty good terms with your mother, and that we talk at least twice a week…on average," said Kagome slowly.

Inuyasha looked at her in a very confused manner, "You…talk to my mom? Wait, what does this have to do with anything? And why would you talk to her anyways?"

Kagome started to rub her temples slowly, "We have quite a bit in common, and the reason I'm bringing this up is because…well…I talked to her last night and she said she's…oh crap," sighed Kagome.

Inuyasha continued to look at Kagome suspiciously, "My mom said what? And since when do you cuss?"

With a deep sigh she looked at Inuyasha's father, "That she wouldn't miss this race for the world."

"Wait…what?" but he was cut off by the sound of his mother's voice.

"Inuyasha! You were amazing! I swear, you make me so proud it's astounding!" The woman came up from behind her son and gave him a large hug.

Kagome looked over to her mentor, and then to her mentor's husband, and then towards Inuyasha. She knew today was too good to be true. Why oh why did she always have to be right? She just couldn't be wrong? At all?

* * *

Firevixen73- Finally I have a chapter up! And the next one, like I said, is almost halfway done. In case there was any confusion, Inuyasha's mother and father are meeting for the first time since they separated. So, I hope everyone liked it. Please review because your comments mean so much to me and once again, thanks for sticking with the story. Hope to hear from everyone soon! And happy holidays! 


	19. Surprise!

Firevixen73-Just so everyone remembers, Inuyasha just defeated Naraku and everyone is congradulating him on his victory. Midoriko, his mother, and Inutaishio, his father, both just showed up at the race, each wanting to praise him for his win. This is the first time they have seen each other in almost a month. Kagome new something was going to go wrong today, she just didn't realize how wrong.

* * *

Kagome watched at Midoriko turned towards her husband, "Hello dear, Kagome didn't say you were going to be here today." 

Kagome somehow resisted beating her hand against her forehead. She watched as Midoriko turned towards her, "Yes, Kagome must have forgotten to mention that."

Shrugging her shoulders in a guilty fashion Kagome did an extremely fake smile, but at the moment it was all she could manage to pull off, "Umm…surprise?"

Kagome felt small, really small, like the whole world was looking at her small. Oh god, she was giving her that look, the look that screams we're going to talk about this later. Oh why her? Yes she was the supreme goddess but she couldn't control everything! How was she supposed to know Inutaisho would be here? He'd never come to any of the rally's before, and obviously Inuyasha didn't know that he was planning on making an appearance. So how was she supposed to plan for this?

And more importantly, how was she going to get out of this?

"Great race Inu- oh this isn't good," came a voice from behind her. Kagome swung around and managed to see a glimpse of Sango standing a few feet behind their newly formed, very unwanted, group. Kagome said a silent prayer of thanks as the unfortunate woman stood there, because what was unlucky for Sango absolutely made Kagome's day.

Sorry Sango, but Midoriko wouldn't take this out on you like she will me.

With a smile she started, "Sango! You're here, good, you can handle everything over here right? I mean, Ayame just called me from…somewhere…and said she needed me. I'm just going to head over to…wherever she is…right now. So have fun."

Kagome attempted her escape, only to be caught by a firm hand as she was passing the god and his family, the family she was cursing at very loudly in her head right now. She looked down at her arm to see a very feminine looking hand with a large diamond ring resting on it. She switched her gaze upward a bit to see Midoriko attached to said hand and looking directly at her, "That's okay Kagome, I'm _sure_ Sango can help Ayame. Why don't you stay here with me?"

The woman sounded like everything was fine, but her grip told Kagome differently. It was obvious Midoriko had been completely taken back by her husband's arrival and wasn't about to let Kagome out of this so easily, whether or not it was Kagome's fault or not. Kagome lowered her head in defeat. So much for her out. Great, how in the world was she going to get out of this now?

Much to her relief, the speakers came back on. It was Kaede's voice announcing everyone's need to return to the stands, they were about to give away the medals. Kagome could have cried in relief. Someone up their loved her…maybe she should visit her grandfather's shine this week, in case he was putting in a good word for her up there.

Without hesitation Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and hauled her over to the bleachers, "Sorry but you heard her, see everyone later!"

* * *

Inuyasha watched as the girl of his dreams disappeared into the crowd, effectively getting out of whatever predicament she had been trying to get out of. Though, whatever that predicament had been, he had no clue, she just all of a sudden became really skittish, like someone was out to get her or something. Still, he couldn't picture why she would be like that, absolutely everyone in this town loved her, then again, she was Kagome and had always done strange things. Maybe this was just another one of those moments. 

He on the other hand, couldn't be more ecstatic, worn out, but ecstatic. Both his parents were in the same vicinity, and no one was crying or yelling, maybe they could finally work things out now that they had to see each other face to face and still act civil towards one another.

"Want to go sit down?" he asked them.

He watched as his mother's face twisted in thought, and his father's face paled. Then something happened that he never thought he would ever see, his mother's angelic and heavenly face turned demonic, "Only if we sit next to that wonderful friend of yours, Kagome. I have so much I want to catch up with her on."

* * *

"What was all that about? And why is he here?" whispered Sango to Kagome as they headed over to the bleachers. 

Kagome quickly looked around their ragtag group of two skeptically. When her surveillance check was done she quickly pushed Sango behind the bleachers where no one could overhear them.

"She is totally going to kill me Sango. I'm a dead woman walking," whispered Kagome back.

"Hold on Kag's. Midoriko isn't going to punish you for something you had no control over. How were you supposed to know he'd be here?" reassured the goddess of strength, once again living up to her name.

Kagome gave Sango a befuddled look, "She's going to do it the same way _you_ did when _you_ where mad at Miroku because _he_ was being stupid."

Sango's face went blank as she remembered her little 'talk' with Kagome. Shamefully she remembered that night. She had been so furious about Miroku and all of Sango's rage had been directed at Kagome instead. She had blamed Kagome for not doing her job as Supreme Goddess and keeping Miroku in line, for not keeping closer tabs on him, for not making sure he didn't hurt her.

It was foolish of her to do, mainly because Kagome had no control over Miroku, followed by the fact that Miroku was not Kagome's responsibility. Inuyasha had always been Kagome's number one priority, not Miroku. Miroku had indeed been her assignment, her person to keep in line.

She had blamed Kagome for one reason and one reason alone. Kagome had always taken care of everything, of everyone, and now the person who she had usually had on her side protecting her wasn't able to do so.

Sango sighed, "Midoriko is a grown woman, she should come to her senses much sooner than any of us did."

Kagome looked back out at the crowd, "I don't know Sango. Yes, we were hurt but we haven't been married for nearly 18 years now have we?"

"She was a Supreme herself Kagome, if anyone could understand that there was nothing you could do about him showing up it would be her," said Sango before looking back out at the crowd.

"…Go sit down Sango, before someone takes your spot…and take lots of pictures for the yearbook would you?" finished Kagome.

"Alright," said Sango as she turned around to leave, "but if she does say anything, know that she doesn't mean it. Promise me that Kag's."

"Promise," winked Kagome as Sango walked out from behind the bleachers and into the stands.

Before re-entering the chaotic world of ecstatic students before her, Kagome took in a deep breath of fresh air in order to clear her head. All she needed to do was keep smiling and wait till the rally was over. That was it, that was all she needed to do, wait this out and hope for the best.

But before she could take another step a cold and slimy voice stopped her.

"Hello there beautiful, now what is a gorgeous thing like you doing hiding in the dark?"

With a tinge of disgust Kagome turned around to see the very last person she ever wanted to see standing a few feet behind her. With a slight shiver coursing through her veins in warning, Kagome was able to face him, "Hello Naraku."

He smirked devilishly as he began to circle her like a vulture about to devour its prey, "I see my reputation precedes me, but that is to be expected."

"Is there something I can help you with Naraku?" she asked sharply.

He made a low growl in his throat as he continued to circle her, "Mother nature sure did a fine piece of work on you. Perhaps you would like to show me what other…wonders you have been gifted with."

Without a moments notice the man had grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him.

"Because I know there are a few things I would love to show you," he whispered in her ear as his hands raked themselves down her body.

"Let me go," said Kagome as she attempted to push him away from her as she suppressed her gag reflexes. If there was one thing she never wanted to experience again it was this man's body pressed so closely to her own.

"I think not, I rather like our positions actually," he chuckled.

"You have no idea who you are messing with, so do yourself a favor and let me go before I decide to do something about this sexual assault of yours," she said angrily.

"I can't be charged if you want it," he said as he pulled her closer to his body, digging his face into her hair in order to pick up her scent, "Mmm, you smell delicious."

Kagome had had enough, "I'll show you delicious," without a second to spare the slammed the heal of her shoe into his foot, effectively hurting him enough for him to release his grip enough for her to manage an elbow in his gut. Without hesitation she sprinted from his hold on her, stopping about four feet away from where she knew he was still standing.

Kagome immediately turned back around to face him before the man could manage to grab her again. When she managed to twist her body to face him her gaze met furious red eyes, "You are going to pay for that bitch."

"I doubt that," said Kagome just as angrily, but before another word was passed between the pair Kagome felt something dripping down her arm. Looking down Kagome's eyes widened when she saw blood. With her internal rage reaching its limit Kagome suppressed a scream. The bastard had cut her with his nails when she had pulled away! The slimy, possessive eye soar to man kind had hurt her! Mind you it wasn't deep or anything but that was beside the point; the insensitive pervert had hurt her!

She looked at him fiercely as he stared at her back, each not daring to say the first word.

"Hey Kag's, you back here?" asked a sweet voice a few feet away.

Before anything else could be said Rin came around the corner. She immediately stopped in her tracks when she took in Kagome's slightly ruffled clothes and hair, as well as the gash along her right arm. She had slightly labored breathing patterns and an extremely intense glare towards the red eyed man.

Rin immediately changed her focus towards said red eyed man. He was clutching his side and breathing harshly, like he had just had the wind knocked out of him, but more importantly she saw the mix of red on his fingertips.

Immediately realizing the situation she frowned and hurried over to Kagome. Grabbing her leaders arm Rin walked her over to the side of the bleachers, where she had just come from, and towards the crowd. Without a word the two headed out from under the bleachers and into the light, leaving behind one very sore loser to remain standing in the dark.

* * *

Rin looked over at Kagome who was clutching her still slightly bleeding arm, "You want to talk about it?" 

"No, I just want this day to be over," was Kagome's reply.

"Well, maybe you can talk to Midoriko about Naraku, because it is really time we did something about him. We've given him enough time to change and he hasn't. We've been to lenient with him…but this is the first time I've ever heard of him attacking a girl like this," said Rin angrily as she remembered the scene she had just witnessed.

Kagome rolled her hands into fists, "Maybe I will talk to her about it, if just to get her to stop thinking about her husband for a little bit." She looked over at Rin, "Do you have an extra coat I could borrow, so I can cover this up?"

"I have mine if you want it, but it's in my car," answered Rin.

Kagome shook her head, "That's okay Rin, you go sit down, it's getting cold out anyways. Go warm up next to Sesshomaru or something."

Kagome smiled for the first time in twenty minutes as she saw the way Rin's whole face, all the way to her exposed collar bone, flushed a vibrant red.

* * *

Kagome sat at the very top of the bleachers once again, thanking whatever merciful god that happened to be around that she had managed to get out of that situation. Naraku had always been a thorn in her side but as far as she knew, he had never done that. They should defiantly do something about him if he was willing to force himself on a woman like that. But the topic would more than not talked over first, since in order to stop him and his entire retched school they, as goddess, would need to reveal themselves to the public. Kaede would have to set up a silent war with the school as well, Midoriko would have to get involved and the gods would actually have to do their job. It would be a big change for everyone, but Naraku was getting out of hand, him and that entire school of his. 

And Naraku was only one of her problems, Midoriko was probably still heartbroken about the situation and was going to need help coping. Contrary to what the woman had lead her sons to believe, Midoriko was not happy about the situation her husband had put her in, in fact, she was furious…and by no means ready to see him. As it was, Kagome was the current Supreme Goddess, and should have caught this, she should have prevented it. And she was going to end up paying for it later.

Damit, Midoriko was going to kill her when this was all over. Why couldn't she just face one stupid problem at a time? Oh, that's right, because this was reality, not some fairy tail princess story you read when you are a kid. No knights in shinning armor, no white horses and no magically happy endings.

"Kagome dear, there you are. We were looking for you," came a sweet voice from below.

Kagome, horror stricken, looked down to see the very last person she wanted to see right now, possibly even more than Naraku, because at least while in public the man had to keep his hands to himself, Midoriko could shoot her down at any time and still keep smiling for the public's assurance. She immediately took back her prayer of thanks to the random merciful god who was hanging around and instead cursed whatever other spiteful being that happened to be taking such joy out of her misery.

Very carefully she waved a hello.

Midoriko sat down next to her. "Well, that certainly was a surprise."

"Umm…where is he?"

A few seconds passed before Midoriko spoke. The woman's words were carefully chosen, "Kaede figured that since a previous Supreme God was here, perhaps he should be the one to present the awards instead of herself."

"Oh…you mad at me?" came Kagome's increasingly weakening and defeated voice by the second.

Kagome waited for an answer but received none. With her eyes closed she prepared for the worst, mentally berating herself for not making sure she was protecting her idol and teacher as she should have been. A few more moments passed but nothing transpired, no words no nothing. Carefully Kagome opened her eyes only to be shocked at what she saw. Yes, Midoriko was giving an extremely harsh glare as expected, but oddly enough, unlike she expected, it wasn't directed at her…specifically.

Instead of glaring at her face, the woman was glaring at her arm. Thoroughly confused Kagome looked down to see what Midoriko was staring at. Her breath hitched in her throat when Kagome realized the scratch on her arm was the center of attention.

"Where did you get that Kagome?" asked Midoriko.

"Its nothing," she answered while trying to pull her sleeve down a bit.

"Where did you get that Kagome? You didn't have that a few minutes ago when I saw you last," said Midoriko sternly.

Kagome sighed in defeat. Right now was not the time and place she wanted to talk about this, "Please, not now, they are giving out the awards soon."

Midoriko leaned forward and grabbed Kagome's wrist, "Who did this to you?"

"I-I…it was Naraku okay. He made a," Kagome paused, wondering how to put this gently, "pass at me and I rejected it. When I pulled away this happened."

Midoriko's gaze grew even more fierce, "That lowlife hurt you? Are you alright?"

Kagome nodded, "I'm fine, Rin came before anything serious happened. But enough about this, it is not something I want to talk about because although I'm fine, it is not a memory I fell like reliving, even in my own head. I'd rather talk about how you are holding up."

Midoriko continued to look at her, anger about Naraku still in her eyes, followed by disbelief which eventually turned into guilt. Kagome saw her mentor take one last look at the slightly scratched up arm next to her before she spoke, "No, you couldn't have predicted this happening anymore than I could have. It just…caught me off guard when I saw him. I was even a little…scared, but Kagome, are you sure you are okay? Maybe if I had been with you instead of pouting like a fourth grader this wouldn't have happened."

Kagome's whole world seemed to fall back into place as she listened to Midoriko, "That's good," she paused to thing about her statement, "about the you not being mad, not the you being caught off guard and scared thing. And no, Naraku would have found someone else, if this is who he is truly becoming. I rather it be me than anyone else. But like I said, lets talk about a different topic okay? Other girls have been through worse, I shouldn't complain."

"Sorry if I frightened you and Sango," came Midoriko's barely audible whisper over the crowd's cheers as the ceremony began.

"Don't worry about it, you are entitled for a few freaking out moments. I'm just glad you aren't mad," came Kagome's response as a few medals were accepted below.

Kagome and Midoriko sat in silence until a large bout of thunder a few miles off, made itself known. Idly, Kagome wondered if the storm would reach them before the ceremony ended.

"…Do you think he cares that I'm here?" came the silent question that jogged Kagome out of her previous thoughts.

Kagome smiled, "I think he cares more than even he knows. The man still loves you, contrary to what I know you think."

"He hasn't even come to visit me, or even tried to talk."

"He called you at the hotel didn't he?" Kagome clapped as Miroku won a medal for the 300 yard dash.

"Yelling is not talking," came her stiff reply.

"But it's a start, isn't it?" asked Kagome.

"No," said Midoriko while shaking her head, "it's not a start, it's a drawback. If anything, it means that he thinks he can control me by force. That is not what a marriage is based off of, and I am tired of making a marriage out of nothing. If nothing is what he wants, nothing is what he'll get. I'm sick of always having to pacify him. He was a wreck when I saw him that day on his porch with a two day old baby in his arms. He was a drunk, a slob and a still thought he was king of the world. I thought I had fixed all that, obviously I didn't, I just learned to ignore it."

Kagome listened as the woman's words became angrier and angrier with each syllable spoken. If this day had proven anything to her, it was how unready Midoriko was to face her husband. She wasn't prepared for this day, emotionally anyways; she had too many fresh wounds to face her husband logically. To many memories she didn't want to revisit.

"Its okay if you leave, Inuyasha will understand. He's tougher than even I gave him credit for."

"Now why would I do that? I'm not about to let that man ruin my day. This is just a slight set back, I'm just going to have to suck it up. All we have to do is hope that nothing else goes wrong today."

"Agreed," came Kagome's response. The last thing anyone needed was another batch of surprises.

* * *

Kagome and Midoriko watched as the bronze, silver and gold metal winners for the mile run went up to take their metals. Inuyasha was the first to step up, he already carried three gold metals around his neck and a silver, all from the day's activities. Naraku was next to walk up to the platform, standing next to Inuyasha. He carried two silver and a bronze. Sesshomaru was the last to join them, who had draped around his neck one bonze, a silver and a gold. 

Kagome cheered as Inutaisho walked up to the three racers, ready to give them their metals. Inutaisho was about to place the first metal on his eldest son when Naraku turned towards the crowd, pure malice radiating off his body.

"You know what, I don't think I want to be crowned by a _former_ Mt. Olympus Supreme God," he snickered, "In fact, I would much rather be crowned by a goddess, a _current_ one."

Kagome looked over at Midoriko skeptically. What was he planning? Kagome had had a feeling Naraku wasn't about to let his loss in the race go, but she just thought that meant he would fight the consensus for first place, or make a pass at her like he did since he knew it would hurt Inuyasha. The man was there after all, as she tackled Inuyasha silly after his win, but…was he trying to draw the goddesses out? But that was impossible.

"In fact, why aren't they the ones doing this honor? Oh, I know, because they want to keep their identities a secret. But why do that? I'm sure your fellow gods would much rather be crowned by you instead. It would mean so much more to them." Kagome immediately recognized the words Inuyasha had spoken to her just moments before when she had been congratulating him earlier.

Kagome turned when she felt Midoriko latch onto her arm, "He's going to out you and the girls Kagome."

"What? That's impossible, he would have to know who was are, and no one knows that, at least not from his school, and no one from our school would ever tell _him_ of all people," countered Kagome.

"Have there been any transfers that you know of, or people that are holding a grudge against you or the gods?" asked Midoriko.

"None of which who would breath a word about us to hi-" Kagome stopped mid sentence. There was one person who had been forced to transfer to Roman Academy because she was causing so many problems at Mt. Olympus that she was expelled. But…she wouldn't, would she? Damit, she would.

"Kikyo," said Kagome in a daze, "Kikyo was forced to transfer, and that girl would do anything to be accepted, to be the leader of a group…as long as she was in charge. Naraku could have easily given that to her, for the right price."

"Please," started Naraku once again, "grace us with your presence. Or should I call your names for a proper introduction?"

Silence was all that was heard across the stands.

With a wickedly sinister laugh he started up once again, "Well, since we have the God of Knowledge here," he turned towards Sesshomaru mockingly, "it is only fair to summon his counterpart."

While turning back to the crowd he looked towards Rin and bowed mockingly, "Please Rin, do grace us with some of your infinite Wisdom."

Kagome looked down just in time to see Rin's face whiten out of astonishment of being called out in public, as well as her secret being blown in front of Sesshomaru. Very carefully Rin wiped the shock off of her face and stood up from her sitting position in the center row of the bleachers, determined not to let this horrible man get to her. With a grace very few had ever seen before she calmly went to the center isle and glided down the bleachers steps until she reached the platform which Naraku was currently standing on.

Without hesitation Rin quickly snatched the medal from the very befuddled former Supreme God's grasp and walked up to Sesshomaru. She quickly placed the medal around her counterpart's neck and turned back to the crowd, already determined not to let Naraku have the last word in this fight.

Naraku clapped his hands insultingly, "Well that was very well done Wisdom. I wonder if your friends can give such a compelling performance as you just did. Shall we see? Next on my list shall be…I'm thinking the Goddess of Art. She's supposedly very creative, perhaps she will be as entertaining as you. Ayame my dear, please do not disappoint."

The crowed turned towards the small redhead sitting on one of the front bleachers with a mass of racers surrounding her, Kouga being one of them. Naraku smiled, "Oh look, the God of Sport is even sitting next to her. To bad he didn't place in this round, perhaps next time she will be able to award you with a medal."

With ferocity growing in her eyes Ayame stood up and marched over to the villain who dared to attempt to control her like that. The man who dared to humiliate the gods like this, who dared to humiliate her school, its traditions and its legacy. With a bottle of coke and a bag of popcorn sliding off her lap, she angrily continued towards Naraku, fist ready and adrenaline rushing. It was only with a quick grip on her wrist that she momentarily stopped.

Ayame's red pigtails swerved as she saw Sango holding her in place with a firm grasp. With only the tightening hold on her wrist, and the shake of Sango's head did Ayame finally put aside her self assigned vendetta mission. As soon as she felt Sango's grip relax she pulled her wrist out of Sango's hold. She wasn't mad at Sango, but she needed to vent, and action was always the best way for her and having her action method denied wasn't settling well.

"And we have the Goddess of Strength to greet us as well. Well this is a surprise. And I have to say, Art lived up to her reputation for ingenuity, as did you. I am not disappointed in either of you by any means, though, I hate to say it Sango, but Miroku looks a little worse for wear. I believe you have hurt his feelings. It is ironic, the God of Jest having nothing but ill thoughts to ponder. I do love my work," laughed Naraku.

"Shut up you bastard, you have no idea who you are messing with," growled Sango.

"Don't I? If the god's can do nothing to me, why should I worry about you and your pathetic friends?" asked Naraku.

"Because you imbecile," spoke Rin from behind him, "the gods are the social network of the school. They keep moral up, are a face to look towards when in trouble, but the goddess are the ones who create real damage. And you just made us go public, we are now under virtually none of our own restrictions anymore. We have nothing to hide now, essentially, you have not only destroyed yourself with this little escapade, but you have just condemned your entire school."

"Hardly," growled Naraku, "you hold no power over me or my school."

Kagome looked towards Naraku, determination shinning in her eyes. Enough was enough, this man had crossed to many lines. If he was going to go through all this to try to make her miserable, then fine, but if she was going to be outed on her own secret than it would be on her terms. No one else's, and damit, if these were her options, she was going to make this situation happen on her time, not his.

Slowly, but elegantly, Kagome stood up from her back bleacher position. She watched as all eyes fell on her, but she couldn't focus on that. She had a purpose right now, and if she were to look into that sea of faces it would happen, she would see Inuyasha and all that he was feeling. The betrayal, the hate, the disappointment…and she was about as prepared for that as Midoriko was to face her husband.

Kagome locked eyes with Naraku, "Allow me to introduce myself Naraku, I am Kagome Higurashi, Supreme Goddess of Mount Olympus High School."

"Pleasure to meet you," came Naraku's sly remark.

Kagome cast a glare in his direction. While taking a few steps down she started her speech, the one she had been wanting to tell him since day one. "I assure you, the pleasure is entirely yours. I personally have no desire to ever see you again, you selfish, pigheaded, egotistical bastard. For years I have watched to terrorize my school, terrorize every school that you could get you poisonous hands on, and I am fed up with dealing with your trash.

"You really think we never noticed, how your school never fails to cheat? How last year in the last four seconds of the state championship game, the buzzer went off and Inuyasha made that basket, how it flawlessly swooshed through the net, how he was in midair when he shot? How you were still declared the winners? Did you think we wouldn't notice something was up when the judges called traveling? Just so you know, I'm yearbook editor, and Kagura has some pretty amazing clips of you paying off the judges, and not just for that game, or year for that matter. We have dozens of similar video's and pictures all of which that show important members of your school. You, many of your friends, a few Board members, your Principle and Vice Principle, but I always held back because I thought it wasn't worth it. That perhaps you would change. That my school could take your attitude without fear or hate. I'm glad to say that they have, they have succeeded past even my expectations and the girls and I couldn't be more proud, but now you have done it.

"In all the years of competition my school has had with yours, you have never gone so far as this. So here it is. You have always compared yourself to Inuyasha, speaking of how wretched and filthy he is, well let me tell you this, Inuyasha and the others are nothing compared to you. They are child's play. They may cause trouble and they may create extra work, but I have never regretted knowing them. They do things out of fun, you do things out of malice.

Kagome was finally at the bottom of the bleachers, walking up the platform in order to face Naraku head on. She wanted him to hear this, and she wanted to see the white of his eyes when she said it. Kagome stopped when she was an inch or two away from his face, "If I were you I would be prepared to face all the trouble you have caused this entire town, because of your inability to play fair, your school is dust, not even a memory. You know why, because you aren't even a tenth of the man Inuyasha is."

"I-" started Naraku but he was cut off by Kagome.

"Get out of my city, or I will make you get out," she said smoothly, with a frost to her voice no one had ever heard before, not even her mother had heard such emotion come from her, "and take your wretched school with you."

Before Naraku knew what was happening a large duffel bag hit his back. As he fell to the ground he turned to see Sango standing above him as she dropped his bag back on him, "I told you, you didn't know who you were messing with. Perhaps you should learn to listen."

Rin stepped up next, "Here is some wisdom for you, learn from your mistakes. You set us off once, do you really want to face us a second time? Because if you are not out of our sites soon, I promise it will be a joy for us to go another round with you."

Ayame took a step forward as well, "Leave, _creatively_ if you could. I personally would love some entertainment."

Naraku looked around at the four women before him, Kikyo had said they were influential, but looking at them now, he knew the truth. He had been a fool to go up against them. Without hesitation he stood up and carefully walked down the platform, careful not to embarrass himself further by falling. One by one he watched as his fellow school mates made their way off the bleachers as well, each walking towards their designated rides. When he was almost to the end of the stadium he turned around, for one last look. As soon as his eyes made contact with Kagome a large flash of lightning crashed not a mile behind her, a loud thunderous roar almost immediately following.

He turned back around instantly.

The way the light from the lightning had formed behind her had almost been majestic, and eerie. She had almost looked like a real goddess back there, with power to command everything before her, and destroy anything that lay in her way. As he reached his car he came to conclusion. Kagome Higurashi was a goddess, she truly was one, with the power to lift up or destroy whomever she wished, and this town was her kingdom, and he had been the foolish invader who thought he stood a chance against fighting her with his mortal weapons.

* * *

The stadium was quiet as Kagome stood there, watching the various cars and buses leave. She didn't budge, partly because she didn't want to, partly because she couldn't. Everything she had known was going to change now, people were going to treat her different, they were going to expect so much more from her now, and there was nothing she could do about it. 

And Inuyasha, she didn't even know how to begin solving that problem. He was probably never going to speak to her again. He was probably furious, she knew she would be. And pour Souta, he had really come to rely on Inuyasha, and now he had another person he loved leaving him…again. And it was all her fault, she had ruined everything, all because she didn't want to tell anyone her secret. That she wasn't just little Kagome Higurashi anymore. She was more than that.

With another clap of thunder Kagome began to feel the ice cold droplets of rain hit her body, drenching her to the bone. It was cold, and raining, but she didn't feel like moving. If she did no one would be there to catch her when she fell.

Silently, she felt a long coat place itself over she shoulders, shielding her from the freezing cold rain. With a silent prayer of hope Kagome looked up to face her savior, hoping beyond all powers imaginable it was Inuyasha who had come to her rescue. It was only with sheer power of will that Kagome managed to keep herself from breaking into a crying fit when she saw Midoriko standing over her. Kagome took in a few short breaths and turned to face the remnants of the students yet to move.

"The ceremony, I'm sad to say, is going to have to end. This rain doesn't seem to have any intention of letting up. Sorry about this, we'll finish the ceremony some other time," spoke Kagome loudly to the crowd.

She looked over to Sango, Ayame and Rin, each looking as detached and defeated as she felt. With a sigh she began, "We need to get to work, I intend on holding true about everything I said."

"Alright," nodded Sango.

"About time," said Ayame.

"We should start with the school itself, and then work our way up," said Rin while putting on her sweatshirt and then layering it with a jacket she had pulled out of her car earlier in case Kagome decided to wear it, "that school has been corrupt for to long. I don't know how many city officials we've had ask us to help take it down. I'm glad we finally can."

"I'll give you a lift to Kagome's house," said Midoriko, "I will help you four from there. Roman Academy was a thorn in my side as well, and I didn't do enough to stop it. I won't make the same mistake I made with my husband."

"Midoriko, you didn't make a mistake with him," argued Kagome.

"Yes I did. I let things go on to long until they even I couldn't do anything. You four have done what I couldn't, and I will help you with all I can. Roman Academy is a powerful school, and you are going to need more than just pictures to take them down. When we get to your house I'm calling my lawyer, I'm sure he'd love to hear this one."

Midoriko turned around and headed off to her limo, all the while preparing to call in some drivers in order to pick up the goddesses cars. They shouldn't be driving in this weather anyways.

Kagome turned towards her friends as she snuggled inside Midoriko's extra coat. The woman truly was a mother, who brings an extra coat to a race just in case someone didn't have one?

Kagome specifically ignored the four current and one previous god standing to her side as she finished processing all that had happened within the last five minutes, damn, it had all just gone so wrong. With a deep breath she tried not to cry, not that it would matter anyways. No one would be able to tell with all this rain, "Pack up everything you brought, Kaede will make sure everything here is taken care of."

With that said Midoriko's limo pulled up next to them. Walking off the stands Kagome grabbed her purse and backpack, which a student had brought down for her, and opened up the car door. Inside they could hear Midoriko talking to her lawyer as she was explaining the situation. Without hesitation Kagome stepped in and moved further in to provide space.

Sango was the first to join, bag in hand, who was followed almost immediately by Rin and Ayame. Without a word the door shut and silence followed. The limo drove off and the rain continued to pour. Time seemed to stand still for gods and goddess alike, only repeating those few horrible moments of agony and betrayal, over and over again.

* * *

Firevixen73-Hope everyone liked it! Please review and tell me what you think! I would have gotten it up sooner but I changed a few things around. A big thank you to all my readers! I hope this makes everyones Monday a little bit more bearable. 


	20. Lost Faith

It had been nearly three weeks since the rally incident and the school was in a frenzy. As soon as the initial shock of the goddesses identities wore off the girls found themselves extremely busy. Not only did the female population feel the need to ask them about every little thing and copy everything they did, whether in class or not, but the male population of the school seemed to feel the sudden need to treat them like queens, unable to do anything for themselves.

They would find specialty meals made for them in the cafeteria, free of charge. Trays full of sweets and chocolates on the desk or lockers, homework accepted late and tardiness not even questioned. They were the envy of every girl in the school and the dream of every guy.

They hated every moment of it.

They hated not being treated like individuals, they hated not being thought of as friends and they hated being treated better than everyone else. They weren't any better, they didn't have special powers to help cure some unknown disease and they sure as hell didn't have any idea how to stop it.

No, they were in their self built grave. Each one of them knew what they were taking on when being initiated into the position, and while most people wouldn't see popularity as a setback, for them it most defiantly was. How were you supposed to do your job when people cared more about impressing you than befriending you?

"Is it just me or have more people been showing up to my book club?" asked Rin as she sat down underneath their designated tree.

"I thought we got rid of that stupid book club of yours," spoke Ayame while biting into her apple.

Sango rolled her eyes, "She started her own once she was kicked out of the other one."

"It seems people destined for lameness will always find a way, won't they?" said Ayame while Rin openly glared at her.

Suddenly Kagome came running around the corner, full speed, and in three inch heals no less. In her hands she clutched her cell phone and her purse as she panted deeply, once reaching her three friends. "We need to go," she voiced.

"Why?" asked Rin.

"Three reasons, explain later. Must leave now," she said while grabbing her nearest friend's arm, who happened to be Sango, and hoisting her up and onto her feet. Kagome's eyes shifted nervously as she scanned the area in anticipation.

"Or you could explain now while you sit here catching your breath," pointed out Ayame, "What did you do, run from one end of the building to the next?"

"I have a good reason, a bad reason and an even worse reason, but most of all we need to leave school grounds now. I've already been given permission from Ms. Kaede so let's-" but she was cut off by the sound of laughter…male laughter.

Sango was the first one to realize who exactly was laughing; she was also the one that paled the most. Her usually vibrant and tanned skin looked ashen in a heartbeat, taking on a sick luminous type of glow. Without hesitation she reached up to the nearest branch and hoisted herself up, lifting her body off of the ground and into the trees. Kagome immediately followed, she too knew that voice, almost as well as Sango did.

Rin's right eyebrow rose as she looked at Ayame, "Is there a particular reason they are climbing a tree?"

Ayame shrugged her shoulders and then looked up at Kagome, "Is there a particular reason you two are climbing a tree?"

Kagome looked down at her two remaining friends, "Problem number one, named the 'bad reason', as I specified earlier."

"Hey Miroku, why'd Kaede want to see us anyways?" asked yet another familiar voice.

Ayame's own features dimmed as she realized the situation...and the voice.

Damn.

"Agreed, I have no need to be dragged across the entire school grounds for something foolish," came another familiar voice.

Double damn.

With one look at each other both Ayame and Rin reached for the nearest branches and lifted themselves up and above eye level, protecting themselves from view.

After a few grueling seconds of rapid heartbeats, sweaty palms and feverous climbing, three figures made their way around the same corner that Kagome had just seconds ago sprinted from. The four goddesses watched as Miroku, Sesshomaru and Kouga made their way towards them.

"Dude, she didn't say why she just said to get to her office before lunch was over," said Miroku while scratching his head in confusion.

"And why isn't my little brother here? You would think he would need to be present," asked Sesshomaru.

"Apparently he already knows, the head goddess and god were told at the same time," came Miroku's quiet reply.

All three girls looked over to Kagome's silent form. Even from their respective distances they could see their leader's muscles tightening and down cast eyes. Sango, who was closer, could even see Kagome's swollen bottom lip which she bit whenever nervous. Apparently Kagome wasn't kidding when she said she had bad news.

"So they were in the same room?" asked Kouga after a few seconds of silence.

Miroku walked past the tree, Sesshomaru and Kouga right behind him, each oblivious to the pairs sitting above them. After a few more seconds of walking Miroku looked forwards towards Kaede's office, instead of shuffling his feet on the lush grass like he had been. They were nearly out of hearing distance before Kagome heard his reply.

"Yeah, they were."

Once the boys had walked back into the school building Rin dropped down from her perch, Ayame directly behind her. Sango soon joined the pair back on solid ground with her own graceful fall. Almost simultaneously they looked towards their leader who seemed reluctant to jump back down towards reality.

"Hey Kag's?" asked Sango, the only one brave enough to speak, "how'd the meeting go?"

She didn't ask about Inuyasha directly but Kagome had to of known what her friend was talking about. She had had to of attended a million different meetings with Kaede before but this would have been the first one where Inuyasha was present.

With that said Kagome was knocked out of her silent stupor and jumped down off of the tree, though she refused to look her fellow goddesses in the eyes. "The meeting was fine, Kaede wanted to go over a few details about Roman Academy with me. That was the good news. Nearly all of the problem students have been take care of, courtesy of us and a few friends. It seems the school itself even banned them, no doubt trying to preserve what is left of their reputation. All that is left now are the board members and a few of the teachers which Midoriko is taking care of…all in all we are done in our part. We might be called in for a few testimonies but that looks like the end of it. Midoriko and Kaede will take care of the rest."

The others easily noticed how Kagome had side stepped the issue of Inuyasha but none were about to push the matter. It would be rather hypocritical considering none of them were willing to talk about their respective gods either.

"And Naraku?" asked Rin. She was particularly interesting in this case considering none of the others knew about Kagome's mishap with him. For some reason the girl just didn't want to talk about it and had asked both Midoriko and Rin to not say anything to anyone. 'It is in the past and I'd rather not think about it,' that was what Kagome had said.

Rin's gaze traveled down to her friend's injured arm. Unfortunately the mark was still there. Apparently sometime during the rally it had become infected and she had been forced to go to the hospital for medicine. Luckily the antidote was already working and the nurse said the cut should be gone in another week, perhaps two.

"Naraku is under trial. It seems he has three other accounts of attempted rape, none of which he was able to finish his demented little plan with thank goodness. What I don't understand is how we didn't know about these? Did he scare them so bad that they didn't even think we could do anything?" finished Kagome with a sigh.

"Probably," frowned Rin, "Roman Academy is a very different school than ours. They didn't have anyone there to talk to and Naraku had pinned us as they enemy. Even with our informants some things were bound to stay secret for a while."

"I'm just glad this whole thing happened at the rally with everyone to see. If these girls hadn't of seen what we were capable of they might not have come forth if we had decided to take him down latter," contemplated Ayame.

"At least one good thing came out of that stupid rally," said Sango softly.

Rin decided to take another chance, "I heard all of Naraku's medals are being stripped from him…and over half are going to the appropriate winner…Inuyasha."

Kagome's head snapped up as she looked directly into Rin's eyes fiercely…angrily, "Really? I hadn't heard that. Now we have more important things to talk about. The reason we need to leave campus immediately."

Rin, guiltily looked down. What was she doing? She knew she didn't want to talk about, let alone think about Sesshomaru yet here she was, trying to force Kagome into doing the very things she herself couldn't do.

"What is it?" asked Sango.

"It's Midoriko, she's called her lawyer," sighed Kagome. Even in a situation like this, as bad as it was, she was still glad to have the attention off of her own problems.

"Well that's good," snorted Ayame, "she should have been talking to him this whole time after all. We are trying to bring down a whole school here."

"She…she didn't call him about Roman Academy Ayame," said Kagome silently.

Sango blinked in confusion a few times, "Well what else could she be calling her about?"

"I'll give you a hint, he's a worse version of Inuyasha," sighed Kagome.

The Supreme Goddess of Mt. Olympus High School sighed as she watched the situation dawn on her friends. Rin stuttered out what none of them were willing to voice out loud. "S-she's…divorcing him?"

"Looks like it. Apparently her lawyer called me as soon as she was off the phone with Midoriko. All in all, I think at least one of us needs to keep an eye on her for now. I can do it until about ten if one of you guys don't mind picking up Souta and bringing him to the hotel. I think it would be good if she realized that not all men are awful, besides, she absolutely adores him. Do you guys want to take shifts after that?" finished Kagome.

"Alright, I can take the night shift. My family will understand," agreed Ayame.

"That woman has always been there for all of us. I'll watch her from lunch on. All my classes after lunch are pretty much study hours. I'm sure the library wouldn't mind if I took some of my volunteer time off," said Rin.

Sango smiled, "I'll cover the morning shifts than. Those are my easy classes; I don't need to show up for those anyways. I'll pick up Souta for you also Kag's, it's on my way."

"Alright, Rin, you take first shift…just don't let her do anything she'll regret later and above all, just don't let her call him."

* * *

Four days, four long days.

Kagome sighed as she repeatedly banged the door with her balled up fists, attempting to frighten to women on the other side.

"You can't stay in there all day and you know it!" yelled Kagome through the bathroom door. Oh what she would give for a good sledge hammer right now. It had been four days of this, four days of being at whit's end. How do you convince someone that their marriage is salvageable when they don't want to believe it? "You don't even have a phone!"

"I will stay in here until you give me back my cell phone Kagome!" yelled a furious Midoriko.

Kagome let loose a deep sigh. After that first day of school and receiving the call from Midoriko's lawyer, it was like babysitting a toddler. Who knew a grown woman could be so stubborn. Kagome had always thought the streak had come from Inutashio, but apparently Inuyasha had developed this little trait from him mother. Damit! Here she was thinking about Inuyasha again, she should not be doing this. Especially at a time like this.

Back to the appropriate topic. The grown woman who had locked herself in the hotel bathroom…perhaps one day her life will be easy.

Today after school she had made her way over to the hotel where the woman was staying at. Luckily Rin had unplugged the hotel phone already but she hadn't been able to locate Midoriko's cell phone. Kagome had unintentionally found it underneath the mattress when she was placing the sheets that Rin had been forced to pull off and wrap the phone in until room service arrived, back on the bed.

"You are not calling him!" she yelled from the other side.

Suddenly the door swung open and she was faced with the death glare of a very powerful woman, "And why exactly not?" she asked furiously. Luckily Kagome knew that the woman was mad at the situation and her husband, not at her, so she was able to take in the glare without too much worry.

"Because you don't really want to divorce him," she stated casually.

Midoriko's eyes turned red as she stepped towards Kagome, "Yes I do!"

"No you don't. You want him to want to be with you, to fight for you. You want him to be the man you fell in love with. And don't even try to tell me you don't love him because everyone knows you do," finished Kagome just as casually. She had enough experience to know that when dealing with a crazy person it is best to stay calm.

Slowly Midoriko's eyes went down cast and her posture went limp. The woman walked over to the couch and sunk into the extravagant couches. "That's the problem isn't it? That I love him."

Kagome, seeing a break through happening, quickly reached over to the bathroom doorway and pulled the door closed, locking it from the inside. She would have to ask the front desk for a key a little bit later. Without hesitation she walked over to the couch and placed a reassuring hand on her mentors back.

"Loving your husband isn't a bad thing you know," whispered Kagome while drawing circles on the woman's petite shoulders.

"It is when your husband doesn't love you back," cried Midoriko. The woman looked up just enough for Kagome to see the tears that had begun to stream down Midoriko's face.

"He loves you, he loves you as much as you love him," whispered Kagome again.

"He sure has a funny way of showing it. Sometimes I think he forgets that he's not in high school anymore, that yes, he does have responsibilities and he does have other things to think about…to care about," cried Midoriko.

"If you feel that way then you should tell him. Face him, face to face, not over the phone but have him standing there, right in front of you," suggested Kagome.

"Oh, like you are facing Inuyasha?" began Midoriko.

"I…lets deal with your problem first," swayed Kagome.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" asked Midoriko.

Kagome, seeing that this wasn't going anywhere decided to answer the woman's questions, "I don't know…the rally?"

"He say thank you for lifting the ban yet?"

Kagome shook her head in an almost laughing manner, "Yeah, that's right up there with his confessions of undying love."

"He doesn't hate you, I know my son well enough to know that," smiled the distraught woman.

"At least your smiling again, too bad it is over something make believe," frowned Kagome.

"I'm divorcing him Kagome. I know you girls think it is the wrong decision but I don't have any other option. I refuse to keep loving a man who doesn't love me back, and the only way for me to get over him is to leave him behind. He's not the same man who would feel so passionately about something that he would fight till the brink of death for it. Or perhaps he is and I'm just not something he cares enough about for. Either way, it isn't what I want or need. I have to end it Kagome, you need to understand that," she finished sadly.

Kagome took in a deep breath as she weighed her options. Either way she looked at it this whole scenario wasn't going to end smoothly. There was no way anyone of them was going to be able to convince Midoriko that her marriage still had something left fighting for and it seemed as if Inutashio wasn't willing to take a hit to his pride.

Kagome glanced at the clock that was sitting to her right. A little past six thirty, he should be home. Kagome quickly weighed her options. If she went over there she would more than likely have to face Inuyasha which she wasn't too keen on doing, but if she didn't, Midoriko, the only person who had always been there for her, would probably lose her marriage.

Damn, today was not a good day.

"Can I trust you not to do anything stupid?" asked Kagome suddenly.

"What?" asked Midoriko.

"Can I trust you to not make that call until noon tomorrow?" asked Kagome again. She looked at Midoriko strait in the eyes. She knew the previous goddess knew what she was referring to. Kagome wanted to make sure that Midoriko wasn't going to call her lawyer and file for divorce, not until tomorrow, but for what reason Midoriko didn't know.

"Yes, I guess so…but why?" she finally asked.

"Promise me here and now that you won't make that call until the designated time which we have just agreed upon," stated Kagome in a very authoritative manor, one which Midoriko had never heard directed towards her before.

Midoriko absentmindedly nodded her head as she took in Kagome's demeanor. While the two had known each other for a very long time it was always a jaw dropper when sweet innocent Kagome went into cold and in charge goddess mode. "I promise Kagome, but only if promise not to stop me or let the other girls stop me when the time comes."

Kagome reluctantly nodded, knowing there was no other option available to her. God, she did not want to do this. She did not what to do this with every fiber of her being but it didn't matter, because it was going to happen. "Alright, now go to bed and sleep on what we've talked about. Ayame said you haven't been sleeping right so I know you are tired."

Kagome immediately went to stand, trying to make it out of the room while she still had her courage, but was stopped when Midoriko reached for her, "Kagome, what are you going to do?" asked the woman.

"I'm trusting you. I need to go pick up Souta," Kagome cringed at the lie but knew there was no other way. If Midoriko found of what she was about to do Kagome would find herself tied to the bed and unable to leave the room until the divorce was final. With a quick shake of her head, and a very fake smile that she seemed to be perfecting, Kagome reassured Midoriko that she would see her in the morning and to get some rest.

After heading out of the room she silently closed the door, once watching Midoriko climb into bed, and began to head down the hall. She needed to make it to Inuyasha's house and she needed to get there now.

* * *

Inuyasha was beyond pissed. He had finally managed to get to sleep, something that had been eluding him for the past couple of weeks and someone was fucking banging on the damn door! What the hell is wrong with people, do they not know that couches are hard enough to sleep on anyways?

Angrily throwing the pillow that was previously coving his ears and protecting him from such loud racket, onto the floor he stomped off the couch and into the hallway. He swore that whoever was there was going to find themselves dead. He was going to personally staple them to a post and drown them in the river. There was a river around here right? Yeah, that one by the old warehouse, that would work.

"Who is making all that racket?" came a voice to his left.

Inuyasha angrily turned around to see his older brother standing by the stairs, a book in hand. "I don't know but I'm going to kill them," he answered back, practically running to the door to make sure he caught the culprit.

The door swung open and Inuyasha began his rant, "What is your fucking prob-" but his words died on his lips when he saw who was in front of him.

Silky black hair and gorgeous eyes.

Kagome…she was there…standing in front of him.

"Wh-" he started but was cut off when she forcefully pushed herself into the house.

Kagome, on the other hand, was desperately trying not to run in the other direction. With some unknown force she had somehow managed to take a few steps forwards instead of running strait for her car. Why of all people did it have to be Inuyasha who answered the door? It couldn't have been Sesshomaru? Sesshomaru she could handle, but Inuyasha? God, it made her want to cry while just thinking about it.

"I need to talk to your father," she said automatically.

Kagome quickly scanned the room in hopes that he would be around somewhere, saving her from this current agony. Instead she was given Sesshomaru who was standing by the stairs, looking as equally shocked as his brother. Great, this world really did hate her. Under no circumstances did she want to face both of them, especially at the same time.

While taking a deep breath in order to calm her nerves she looked at the two brothers quickly, making sure not to catch their eye for too long, less she fold right then and there. This was hard enough as it was.

Sesshomaru was the first to speak, "He's working, why do you need him?"

"Just get him, and now. I can't waist time alright, I only have until noon tomorrow to fix this," she said sharply, intent on making sure she wasn't here to socialize.

It seemed Inuyasha had regained his footing from her abrupt arrival because he went to stand next to his brother, "We'll get him when you tell us why."

Kagome resisted rolling her eyes. This was hard enough for her and she did not have the strength to sit here and argue with them all day, "Fine, I'll get him myself," she countered.

"Good luck," scoffed Sesshomaru. He knew what a maze this house could be, and she hadn't even been around since the remodeling.

"I don't need luck," spat back Kagome.

With a deep intake of air Kagome let all of her frustrations out, in one very large scream, one that could have been heard three houses down. She watched as both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru covered their ears and hunched over to the ground, trying to block out the high pitch with their body mass. After a few grueling seconds her scream slowly died down as she lost her last amount of air.

Kagome quickly looked around and surveyed the area. There was no way he hadn't heard that so either he was ignoring it, or was frantically searching the house in an attempt to figure out what had the gall to interrupt him while working.

"What the hell?" came Inuyasha's response. Too bad his response wasn't the one she was looking for. She was actually hoping for a much older, deeper voice to say those words. With slightly dull eye's she sighed. Looks like she was going to have to go another round, because there was no way she was searching this monster of a house for a man she didn't even really want to talk to.

Kagome took in another breath of air, ready to once again grace the world with all of her pent up anger, but stopped when she heard a door slam.

She watched as both brothers flinched at the slamming of another door. It seemed like she wasn't going to have to scream again after all. Suddenly the large door to her right, one she guessed led to a hallway and multiple other doors, opened and a furious looking silver haired man stepped into the foyer.

"Who and what the hell was that?" he bellowed angrily. He scanned the room only to find a very petite and angry looking girl staring at him. He didn't know why but she looked familiar, perhaps one of his son's many girlfriends? No, they hadn't had anyone over in a long time, even with the ban lifted. And why would one of Inuyasha or Sesshomaru's girlfriends be angry at him?

"Can you explain who you are and why you felt the need to do that? Maybe if you have a good reason I won't call the cops on you," he said furiously. He had enough problems on his hands; he didn't need some angry little girl to add to it.

His eye brows rose when she scoffed at him, "I'm the current Supreme Goddess of Mt. Olympus and I did that because you are an idiot."

His eyes went wide at her statement. The current? That meant she knew his wife, that meant she was in _league_ with his wife. Of course, that was why she was so familiar. The rally, the speech…of course. His eyes narrowed into slits when he took in all that she had said. "Get out of my house."

Kagome suddenly found herself snapping. How dare he talk to her like that, he had no right to order her around after all the problems he had caused. "You are an idiot you know that? Once upon a time I respected you because I thought only someone really great could make Midoriko as happy as she was, but now I know that you are just a coward."

"G-get out of here little girl. You don't know what you are talking about!" he yelled at her.

"I don't know what I'm talking about? I think that is you?" Kagome suddenly found herself getting angrier and angrier with each passing moment.

"What happened to the man Midoriko used to tell me stories about? And not those horrible high school stories where you were the biggest pimp in the land, but about the father who would spend every day after school playing with his sons? What about the guy that would randomly cook her breakfast in bed just because he felt like telling her how much he loved her? What happened to the guy that I always wished my father would be, instead of some loser who was so controlled by his family that he left his two children when his own mother threatened to disown him?" she yelled.

"I don't know what happened to you or why it happened but you are not the same man I used to idolize. I used to dream that someday I would find someone like you, someone to take care of me when I didn't feel like taking care of myself. I wanted what you and Midoriko had but now all you do is make her cry. She cries every night because of you. All she wants is for you to love her, for you to give a damn, but you don't. You are so caught up in your stupid pride and so called glory days that you didn't even know who I was!" she screamed.

"I have spent the last six years with her as my mentor, all of us see her as family but her own real family could give a crap about her!"

"Hold on, I love my wife," cut in Inutashio but he was cut off by Kagome's biting words once again.

"Bullshit, if you really cared about her you would be on your knee's trying to gain her back. You wouldn't be cooped up in your office telling yourself that you don't care. I have spent the last week trying to convince her not to get a divorce, to not file for something I know isn't right," said Kagome with less ferocity. He needed to understand that without action he was going to lose her.

She watched as the three silver haired men went still with shock. Yes, she had told them, she had told them about Midoriko's decision. "The girls and I have been trying so hard to show her that you still love her, that you want nothing more than for her to be your wife, but now I wonder. She's convinced that you don't love her anymore and I'm beginning to see how she could think that. What kills her the most is that she still loves you and all you do is ignore her and the children she's given you."

Kagome closed her eyes and shook her head, "I give up. I'm not going to stop her now. I made a deal with her, she doesn't make that call until noon tomorrow, after that it's over. I've done everything I could to keep your marriage together but, I don't think I can do anything else. I want nothing more than to have a husband like the one she used to describe you as, and I know that is all she wants as well, but I'm starting to believe that that doesn't exist, and what's worse, I think she's starting to believe that as well."

"I didn't have a father figure in my life, Inuyasha knows that and so does Midoriko, and I used to pray that my mother would find someone like you. It seems that you were never all that I thought you were because the man Midoriko used to tell me stories about was strong, handsome, compassionate, caring and protective. Now all I see is someone who is prideful to a fault, selfish and egotistical. If this is really who you are then maybe a divorce is the right option because Midoriko deserves better. No, Midoriko deserves the absolute best, not someone who can't even see what's right in front of him," Kagome said angrily.

She turned around and headed for the door. After opening it she stopped and turned around to face the silent man, "I came to tell you about the divorce and try to reason with you to call her but…I think I've seen her cry to many times for me to face you and not break down myself…After those papers are filed its over, I hope you know that. She won't come back to you after that."

Kagome turned back around, knowing she was done and had nothing more to say. She silently closed the door and headed to her car. She hadn't meant to blow up like that, she hadn't meant to tell him about how she used to idolize him, she hadn't meant to do any of it but, it wasn't only Midoriko's heart he had broken. Her own heart had seen everything she ever wanted ripped out with each tear drop that left the woman's cheeks.

Slowly stepping into her car she headed for home. Luckily Souta was spending the night at Shippo's for the boy's birthday so she didn't have to worry. For tonight she didn't have to worry about her baby brother watching her cry.

* * *

It was eleven o'clock in the morning as Midoriko tapped her foot repeatedly on the tile floor. She knew she should talk to Inutashio but…how was she supposed to face him with confidence when she couldn't even think about him without crying…or throwing a tantrum.

What she really wanted to do was talk to Kagome but the girl wasn't answering her phone, which was odd in itself. Kagome always answered her calls.

Midoriko glanced at the clock again. The bright red numbers flashed 11:01 directly at her. The older woman bit her lip as her tapping picked up its pace. One hour, one hour until her and Kagome's deal was binding.

But…divorce? Inutashio would be caught so off guard. There would be no warning, she knew her husband and to be rejected like this, which she was sure he would see it as, was not something he would take well.

And what about after the divorce? Would she get half of everything, would she want half? Would he fight her till the last penny? Knowing him he would, not that she will ask for anything, just enough to get by. She had after all giving up everything she had for him and their children. Her very promising job that promised her six figures a year and up, her penthouse in the city, her bank account that had been spent in order to start his multitude of businesses. She financed so many of his idea's it was a miracle when one of them worked and now look at him. Some big hotshot who owned too much to count.

God…realization dawned on her, would he find someone else? He would, wouldn't he? He would find some younger girl to hold at night, and they would probably get married and have a beautiful life together and she would be all alone. Still pining after a man who didn't love her.

Midoriko looked at the clock again…11:06.

Was this really what she wanted?

* * *

Kagome sat in her bedroom staring at the wall. She had unplugged her clock and turned off her phone. She just couldn't do this. She couldn't watch the minutes tick by and she couldn't take Midoriko's phone calls. She knew the woman wanted to talk, but quite frankly, Kagome didn't. In fact, the last thing she wanted to do was talk.

Kagome looked at the space where her alarm clock would normally be blinking at her. Souta wouldn't be home until three, she had until then to get her act together and listen to all of Midoriko's messages.

* * *

Midoriko looked at her clock once again, determined to either make the time go by faster or slower, she wasn't sure which.

She looked out the window.

A walk, a walk would be nice. Maybe it would clear her head, and at least she'd kill some time. Yes, a walk would be nice.

Without a moment's notice she slipped out the door, grabbing only her phone and her key card.

* * *

Midoriko looked down the street she had walked towards. It was ironic really, to aimlessly be walking and then find herself here.

It was Mt. Olympus High School, the place where it all started. With a sad smile she remembered how it had happened, how she had fallen for the fallen angel of her time.

_It was freshman orientation and she was in charge. She wasn't the Supreme yet, but she would be next semester when the current supreme graduated early, and to say the least, she was psyched. But until second semester she would be known as Midoriko, the Goddess of Hearth. Apparently she had always been motherly. But she just couldn't wait, her own parents had fallen in love strait out of high school and it was only fitting the same thing happened to her. Just wait, she would find someone dashing and compassionate. Caring and protective, athletic and chivalrous._

_The distracted girl suddenly found herself on the floor and was virtually kicked out of her daydream._

_"Hey watch it Freshie, we already got enough of you kissing my feet," said an arrogant voice._

_She looked up from her scattered books to see a young man with long silver hair and dashing golden eyes laughing at her. He was beautiful, and couldn't have been a year older than her…then suddenly what he said registered in her mind._

_"Excuse me? You arrogant He-Man, obviously you need glasses or you would have realized that I was in no way worshiping you. If anything I was rolling over in disgust. Please refrain from touching me you moron," she whipped out fiercely._

_See, it was men like this that her future husband would protect her from. The arrogant beasts of society that deserved to be put in a kennel._

_She watched the man's face go slack in shock and she grinned, "What? Moron to big of a word for you?"_

_With confidence in her step she turned around and headed over to one of her friends across the room. If it was the last thing she did she would make sure to never have anything to do with that boy again, whoever he was._

Midoriko laughed as she remembered her reaction after finding out exactly who he was. He was Inutashio, the Supreme God, and the man she would spend the next few years working with. Oh the irony.

_"You are impossible. You only disagree with me because I suggested it!" yelled Midoriko. Almost three years with this man was getting on her nerves. If she thought he was bad before than she had been kidding herself._

_Wasn't senior year supposed to be fun? So why was he spending all of his time tormenting her? She was just some insignificant little junior who happened to rule half of the school after all. God, she wasn't that important._

_The silver haired man put his hands behind his head, "Okay, that might be why I'm arguing about it, but that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind."_

_"You are an insufferable jerk," said Midoriko while glaring._

_"And you are impossibly cute when you do that," he said while smiling._

_By now Midoriko had learned to sidestep those comments. After their first meeting he had done nothing but flirt and argue with her. At first she had been confused but she had eventually chalked it up to him trying to get under her skin…which he always did. Three years of those comments and they still made her stomach do flip flops and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why._

_"If you are so desperate to get laid, I hear the lunch lady is free," she growled out._

_His smile just widened as he tipped back in his chair._

_"You have no idea how much you turn me on when you do that," he smirked._

_Instinctively her cheeks turned red. Wow, he was just on a role today now wasn't he?_

_"Miss Midoriko? The student council was wondering if you had the color schemes picked out yet for the dance," said a masculine voice from behind her._

_Being the graceful person that she was, Midoriko quickly turned around and looked at the junior before her. He was a member of student council, the Vice President to be exact. Quite quickly she pick up the color schema's her and Inutashio were looking at, picking out the colors she had decided on._

_"These two, thank you," she said kindly._

_The man's eye's brightened as she smiled at him. The man stuttered as he took the folders, though she had no idea why. Perhaps he liked her, that would be refreshing. No man in this school seemed to want to be near her in the romantic way. In fact, her long time crush hadn't looked at her in over six months. It made no sense; he seemed to like her before._

_As she was busy contemplating Midoriko missed the death glare Inutashio was giving the boy in front of her. It spoke of death, long and painful types of death._

_The boy's large gulping noise and sweaty palms took her out of her zoning. She looked up to see his terrified face and quickly pulling his hand out of her grasp, like a snake had bit him or something._

_"I have to go, thanks for the colors," and with that he was gone, practically flying out the door._

_Midoriko turned around and huffed, a frown adorning her features. "Why does that keep happening?" she asked no one in particular._

_"Perhaps they see you as taken," came Inutashio's voice._

_She glared at him, "I'm not taken alright. I think I would know it if I was dating someone. Besides, I'm the Supreme Goddess, if anyone has laid claim to me I would know it alright," came her stern reply._

_"I'm just saying, I'd never touch a girl that someone else was interested in, or liked. Not that anyone would ever like you or anything," came his normal reply._

_"Shut up alright. I get letters from guys all the time, names signed and everything. It's just, in public they seem to be frightened. I don't know, they talk about how much they love me on paper but scatter when…when I approach them," she sighed dramatically._

_Midoriko hadn't seen Inutashio's eye's go from protective to jealous in the brief instance that he allowed them to. She hadn't seen him battle the emotions inside of himself to keep her close to him and only him. She hadn't seen the way his eyes glazed over in fear like something precious might slip through his fingers._

Perhaps it was best this way, thought Midoriko as she walked through the soccer field. Perhaps they had been fools to get married like they did, to have a child like they did. Perhaps, she never should have visited him that day.

_It had been two whole years since the last time she had seen him. She knew…she had been counting. It was awful to find out you were in love with your sworn enemy, but it had happened. She had figured it out…eventually. It had been his graduation when it happened. Hats were flying, banners were raised and she was in the background, enjoying her work. Suddenly he had walked up to her while in his blue graduation gown. There was a look in his eye's she had never seen before, a look that she had never expected._

_Then there he was standing before her. She was about to ask him if he needed something but he cut her off._

_"I have fought every man off for the last three years. I have made sure no one ever came near you because you were mine. I went to jail for a night because I beat a man when I found out he had kissed you. I have stayed late and participated in every little thing you did, knowing I would get to spend more time with you. And now I'm graduating. I get a diploma for school, and well, I think I deserve something for all my hard work outside of school," he said while stepping towards her again._

_To say she was at a loss for words might have knocked her out of her shock just so she could laugh. Was the man who had done nothing but torment, terrorize and tease her for the past three years…telling her he loved her?_

_"There is only one thing I want for graduation," he said huskily as he swooped down for a kiss. No, it wasn't just a kiss; it was a mind blowing kiss. The kind that stories are written about. The kind that left stars behind in its wake. The kind that had you begging for more._

_And then suddenly that mind blowing feeling was gone. Her lips were no longer warm; they no longer felt the wonderful feeling of another's mouth on their own. She opened her eyes to find nothing but air before her._

_He was gone, and he had left nothing but questions in his wake._

_Her twenty-one year old self remembered the moment well. A year later he had shown up at her own graduation, but no kiss was shared that day. In fact, he didn't even speak to her. It made her feel so numb inside. He didn't even congratulate her. The man she had been fantasizing about for a year now, had just…ignored her._

_It broke her heart at the time. Had he forgotten about her? Did he get over it? Was it a joke?_

_Slowly two years had passed and Midoriko had risen through the ranks. The company she had started to work for in tenth grade now supplied her with her life long career and she made a multitude of money from it. Her hard work and determination had gotten her places. It had helped that her father was also relatively influential, so she had known one of the interviewers for the job through him. To say the least she was happy…mostly._

_But that man hadn't left her alone, at least in thought. He most defiantly had in every other way. There wasn't a second where she didn't think about him, and there wasn't a day that went by that she did check up on him. She knew she loved him, from his quirky habit of mixing steak and ranch dressing to how loyal he was to his friends._

_It was killing her not to be with him. Watching him from the sidelines just wasn't enough…it never had been. If only she knew how he felt. If he still felt that way about her she would marry him today. Hell, she would have married him years ago, high school even, if it meant she could wake up to him every day._

_So here she was, desperately trying to get him out of her head, and visiting him. A check up of course. Her contact had said that he wasn't showing up for work lately and she was worried. He had always been dedicated to everything he did. It was not like him to call in absent to work for three days strait._

_With a few knocks on the door the wooden barrier creaked open and she gasped in surprise._

_Before her stood a haggard, half drunk, silver haired man…with a baby in his arms._

_She looked at him wide eyed, "What?"_

_His own eye's seemed to open as well as he took her in, "I…Midoriko, what are you doing here?"_

_"You, you have a baby?" She looked closer at the squealing infant and her heart immediately melted. It was strange; she had always loved children, but, to see his, Inutashio's, no matter the mother, made her quickly fall in love. The child was Inutashio's, which was obvious from the silver hair. God, with a few blinking of the eye's and the babies smile Midoriko immediately felt the need to protect and take care of her love's offspring as if it was her own._

_Inutashio looked at the form in his arms, "I…apparently. I just found out a couple of days ago. His birth certificate says he's a week old."_

_But she wasn't paying attention. She was too busy falling in love with the baby before her, longing the child to be hers and for the three of them to be one giant happy family. Then a sudden smell hit her._

_"Are…are you drunk?" she asked as she smelled his breath._

_"The brat…he won't stop crying!" he yelled._

_Midoriko immediately took the child in her arms in an attempt to rock him to sleep, making cooing noises the whole time. It felt so right to hold him, to fulfill her maternal instincts to be the mother for the child of the man she loved. Without hesitation she stepped into the house and shut the door with her foot. Once they were out of the street she glared at him, unable to believe he called the wonderful gift in front of him a brat, "I cannot believe you are taking care of a child while drunk!"_

_"I'm not drunk…I'm just a little wasted, that's all," he argued._

_"And how are you going to take care of a child while wasted you idiot?" she screeched._

_"I'm not; I'm taking the thing to child services. I have no business raising a child! I only slept with the mother cause she looked like you!" he yelled, but as soon as the words left his mouth he stopped moving, realizing what he had just said._

_She continued to stare at him as he just stood there in disbelief at what he had just blurted out._

_"I…I don't normally drink okay. I haven't had liquor since you told me how unappealing it is to you. It's just, I don't want a child with some random stranger. I don't have the ability to take care of one. I don't know how to deal with this," he slouched onto the floor as she continued to look at him._

_That was all Midoriko needed. In a split second her own heart attached itself to the dysfunctional family before her. There was no way she was letting the love of her life slip out of her hands. Midoriko switched hips that the baby was sleeping on. "What's his name?" she asked suddenly._

_"What?" said a slightly dazed man._

_"The baby's? Have you named him yet?" she asked again._

_"No…I haven't," he mumbled._

_She turned to what she believed to be the kitchen, "Good, because I'm naming him Sesshomaru. I like it and don't you dare argue with me over this one Inutashio. I'm raising this kid my way, not yours."_

_With that said she turned to the next room. After a few seconds of making herself busy in the kitchen and hoping to God he accepted her invitation, all the while holding a sleeping baby, Inutashio finally walked in._

_"What? You're raising him?" he asked loudly._

_She tried to take in his appearance, since she wanted to remember this moment exactly. No matter how awful or wonderful this turned out, she wanted to remember it. It seemed he wasn't all that drunk, when she took in his appearance. Just a little tipsy. He could still walk in a straight line, talk a full comprehensive sentence without slurring his words and move his body appropriately. Yeah, he was just a little tipsy. It seemed she had come just in time. The man really was at his breaking point._

_"You're an idiot. First you make my life a comfortable and familiar hell, then kiss me, then walk away, then come back only to ignore me and now that I finally come to visit you, here you are telling me that you are giving up the most adorable child in the world and quite possibly the one thing in the world right now that will keep me here for a very long time? Yes, I stand by my first declaration I made to you. You are a moron," she finished her little speech as she checked the fridge for anything edible._

_"What? You are staying?" he asked in a shocked manner._

_Again she faced him, "If you would have stuck around you would have found out that I was willing to do that three years ago, but no, that moronic gene once again made its way to the surface. I will tell you this right now though. If this baby wouldn't have been here, I most defiantly would have just said my pleasant hello's, made sure you were okay so your co-workers would stop calling me and then head back home. So thank your stars I instantly fell in love with this kid or we probably never would have seen each other again."_

_He was not giving up this child, and that was that. She swore she would never talk to him again if this child left this house. She'd rather be miserable forever than have this baby go to social services. So this was it, he either took it or left it. No more banter between the two, no more sliding around the topic. She needed to know whether he wanted her like she did him. She needed to know whether he could be her family, along with his son._

_For the first time in a very long time she saw that heart breaking, soul shattering smirk of his. "Sesshomaru it is then, but just so you know. I'm raising him my way. He's not going to be some sissy that can't hold his own."_

_And with that her entire world fell into place. It made sense. And for the first time since the eleventh grade, she felt compete. "And just so you know, he's going to be able to tell a girl how he feels about her, before the world turns upside down on him," she argued back._

_"He's going to be athletic, as well as competitive," smiled Inutashio as he pulled her closer, all the while being mindful of the sleeping baby._

_"He better be, you can't be a push over when you have siblings, they'll walk all over you," she countered._

_"Siblings?" the smirk grew wider._

_"Close in age, so they'll fight when they are younger but always be there for each other when they are older," she smiled._

_"Maybe we should start practicing the making part," he stated triumphantly._

_"Maybe I should make sure I can stand you for long periods of time first. I just might steal my little Sesshomaru and be done with you. I'm rather taken with him."_

_"Well then, we better go down to the adoption center and officially sign you on as his mother. Wouldn't want you to get charged with kidnapping if you decide to run."_

_And with that their fate was sealed with yet another, mind blowing, earth shattering kiss._

* * *

Midoriko looked across the field as she contemplated her situation. So many things had happened. The two of them had so much built up frustration for so long, they had been so in love to the point it hurt, that when given the chance they had both taken that leap. No looking back.

Three years of consciously being in love and forcing herself to stay away. She had no idea how Inutashio had done it for so long.

They had been married three months later and quickly made up for lost time. Not even ten months later and Inuyasha was born. They were both so happy, she couldn't remember ever feeling so safe and loved.

She wished every day that she could go back to those moments and relive them. It had been the right choice, marrying him like she did. Not that she had thought about it at the time, it was purely instinctual, all of it.

But she couldn't be instinctual any more.

Midoriko pulled out her phone and flipped it open. The numbers reading 12:26. With a sigh she dialed the very familiar numbers and placed the device to her ear. The receptionist answered.

"Yes, I would like to speak to my lawyer."

* * *

Firevixen73-

Hey everyone, so how many of you would like to kill me? I'm really sorry. I had a horrible time writing this. I think it is because I know it will be ending soon. So please review because it will make me want to finish the story for all my loyal readers. Also, please take the poll I have going on my author account if you already haven't. I'm working on a new story called Kagome's Trial. It should be up relatively soon, I just want to get a few chapters made so I don't fall behind on the story.

Also, I want to stress that Midoriko and Inutashio have been in love for a very long time, they just didn't tell each other, which is why that all happened so fast. Thanks everyone!

So please take the poll and review! I promise you will make my day!


	21. No More Secrets

Kagome stared at her phone repeatedly. She had plugged it back in so shouldn't it be turning back on? Shouldn't it be ringing off the hook? She was pretty sure phones rang when people were calling.

Kagome placed her cell phone down and walked over to her house phone. After plugging the line back in she waited for the normal beeping noise that accompanied the signal rejoining with the phone. Unexpectedly, nothing happened.

What in the world?

Kagome looked back over at the clock she had just set up. That wasn't working either. It seemed like nothing in her house was working.

She glanced over at her computer as she decided if her internet was down. More thank likely it was, since nothing else in the house was working. But the question was why, she had defiantly paid the electricity bill this month.

Kagome glanced out her window to see that the neighbor's houses were down as well.

It seemed there was a rather large power outage that was taking down her neighborhood.

* * *

The next day was hell for Kagome. She hadn't had the chance to call Midoriko back; apparently there was a power outage that took out not just her block, but half of the town. Then of course the school was in complete and utter chaos.

It was Thursday though, and that meant tomorrow was Friday, which meant the day after that was Saturday. At least by then she might have some time to get her personal life in order she thought as she walked down the school halls.

"You look great Kagome, you two make such a cute couple," said a freshman girl as she passed her idol in the hall.

Kagome waved it off as she ignored what the girl said, she really didn't have time to be contemplating her single status…couple? What! Kagome immediately backtracked as she turned around to face the freshman. Cara right? That was her name?

"Hey Cara!" she yelled but it was too late, the girl was either too far down the hall to hear her or already in her classroom. Well now how was she supposed to ask her what she meant? Maybe Sango would know. She really hoped someone hadn't spread a rumor about her or anything. As soon as she thought it she laughed, no one in their right mind would spread a rumor about a goddess.

With a bit of a sigh Kagome headed back in her direction but was stopped again, this time by a guy, "Guess this means you are taken huh?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she managed to get out.

"I'm just saying, your boyfriend isn't the type to share. It's really a shame, but I guess it makes sense that you two are dating. By the way, can't wait to see the rest of the yearbook!" he yelled as he headed down the hall to where his friends were calling him.

Then it hit her, the yearbook! The pages from the yearbook were being posted in the newspaper today. It was for publicity and order increases, they supply a few of the completed pages to the school newspaper for free and their yearbook sales go up. But, she had over looked all of the pages, nothing was out of sorts. In fact, she wasn't even in the ones that she submitted….oh god Sango. She had been meeting up with Kagura hadn't she! They submitted the last page together. But what in the world could they have submitted to create a reaction like this?

Kagome immediately looked around frantically for a newspaper. After searching a few halls she found one lying around on the floor. Kagome swiped it without hesitation and opened up the pages only to find nothing on interest. The cafeteria food was poisoned, the usual headline, the gym teacher was secretly a man who had undergone extensive surgery…honestly, their newspaper could give the Inquirer a run for their money.

What the heck, there was nothing. There was not even a piece on the yearbook! Kagome quickly looked up into the right hand corner as she searched for the date. Damn, it was yesterdays. Stupid lazy janitors', didn't they know she was in the middle of a melt down here? She was going to have to do some major damage control if this got to out of hand. Kagome easily recalled how the last supreme goddess had lost her post. The school as well as the public hadn't been sure if the former supreme could handle her position while dealing with a boyfriend who didn't understand his girlfriend's role in society. She had missed about half her meetings because of his whining and now everyone on the board was against a goddess dating anyone who wasn't a god.

Se was not letting that happen to her.

Kagome threw the paper down on the floor and started to search for another newspaper. As she was walking down the hall Kagome saw a few sophomores standing in the hall next to the bathroom, giggling and holding onto a newspaper…yes!

She immediately made her way over to the group and asked to borrow the paper. They looked at her once with wide eyes and then shoved the paper in her hands, giggling the entire time.

"Congrats!" she heard one yell but Kagome was to caught up in the moment to really care. She immediately opened up the first page and gasped. While to two pages that she had submitted where indeed on the left hand side, an entirely unfamiliar page was what made up the right hand side.

It was her and Inuyasha. It had been their night after the baseball game where Shippo had made that amazing swing. It was the night where Rin called Sesshomaru's hair pretty. It was the night where Sango was beat by Miroku in an arm wrestling match. It was the night that she had been so utterly and completely happy.

In the main picture Inuyasha was caring a laughing her through a crowd of boys in baseball suits. His arms were looped around her back and her legs and she had her own arms draped around Inuyasha's neck. She remembered that moment. Inuyasha had declared that Kagome was too tired to walk and that the boys would trample all over her if given the chance. He had…carried her out to her car like that.

Kagome quickly directed her attention to the next picture and saw yet another scene play out of the pictures of her and Inuyasha. He was helping Souta win the Packman game, with her to the side, cheering on the virtual smiley face. One of Inuyasha's arms was wrapped around Souta's neck as he had his arm on the joystick; the other was casually draped across her waist as she jumped up and down.

The last picture almost made Kagome cry. Inuyasha was surrounded by her team and Souta was on his shoulders, how he managed that she would never know. Souta looked so happy; she hadn't seen him like that for a very long time.

"Kagome?" asked a voice from behind her.

Kagome, recognizing the voice immediately whipped her eyes in case any tears had managed to find their way on her cheeks and turned around. "Hey Rin, what's up?"

"Oh, you've seen it. I'm sorry Kagome. We all tried to stop it after the big blow up at the rally but by the time we had our emotions under control it was already at the printing press," started Rin.

"No, it's alright. It just caught me off guard is all," she countered in an unfazed manor.

"Only if you're sure," said Rin.

It was moments like this that Kagome truly appreciated her relationship with Rin. Rin was just, always there. She was loyal to the end and it made Kagome so thankful that they were so close. "Hey Rin, I need you to do me a favor. Midoriko will probably be over at her old house today to pick up some stuff. She checked and her husband was supposed to be gone until six tonight so before all this mess hit, she had planned on stopping by. You mind going with her?"

Rin nodded, "Alright, but why aren't you going? You usually do this stuff with her."

"I'm stopping by at the doctors for another check up on my arm…thanks for that too," she whispered.

Rin frowned, "I still can't believe you haven't told anyone about that Kagome."

"It's over okay, so just drop it."

* * *

The rest of the day had gone relatively smoothly for the most part. Inuyasha hadn't sown up for any of his classes, and while Kagome was slightly worried about that, she was more thankful than anything. If he wasn't in class that means that he wasn't in school. If he wasn't in school he couldn't see the newspaper articles. At least this way, next time they had to actually look at each other there wouldn't be any awkward moments.

So here she was, driving down the road and hoping Souta remembered that she was picking him up today. If he got on the bus then she'd have to drive back home and pick him up, then she's be late for her doctors appointment and she really didn't want anymore stress right now.

Kagome scanned the parking lot as she came up to her brother's school. It was the same dark brick that she remembered, with the same crapy parking spaces. One of these days the school was going to have t stop being so cheap and fix all those pot holes.

Kagome pt her car in park and turned on the radio, hoping something good would be on. There was a sudden knock on her door when she finally reached her station.

Souta was staring at her though the window.

Kagome looked at the clock and frowned before she unlocked her car doors.

"You have 15 minutes before you are let out," she said in her motherly way.

"Teach was sick, she let us out early. Did you know that Jell-O is made from bones? That's what the sub told us…I think. I don't really remember anything else though. He was new and wasn't sure how to keep s all under control," he said excitedly when he finished snapping on his seat belt.

Kagome's right eye brow rose gracefully as she listed to him ramble, "What really happened?"

"…The sub let us leave early since it was just study hall," he finished.

Kagome moved the car into reverse as she smiled at her brothers antics, "It was a nice story."

"Kohaku and I were sure we could get you with that one too," he said while frowning

"…Right."

With that said the two drove to the doctors office on the other side of town while Souta told his older sister all about his day.

* * *

Midoriko and Rin both made there way into the goddesses home in order to collect her things. The main on duty was the one who answered the door and immediately let them in.

"So…how'd it go with your lawyer?" asked Rin awkwardly

She saw the former goddess stiffen immediately as they made their way upstairs.

"That bad huh?" said Rin absentmindedly.

Midoriko opened up the door to her bedroom and sighed, all the while surveying the space around her. Nothing had been changed. Her husband had left everything as she ad left it. The jewelry box hadn't been touched, her make-up kit was the same in fact the only thing that was different was…her wedding dress.

It was on the bed, completely unwrapped and out of its plastic casing.

The dress was just as beautiful as she remembered it. It was an off-white eggshell color with beads outlining the entire dress. The veil was draped casually over it. At the time, it had been the cheapest but still elegant dress they could find. While she was making quite a bit of money Midoriko ad wanted to get married right away so she hadn't shopped for anything to expensive. In fact, Inutashio was the one who had found the dress. She had almost cried the day he had brought it home for her.

Midoriko absentmindedly ran her fingers through the silk fords of the dress, "I wasn't able to talk to him."

Rin immediately looked at her in disbelief, "What?"

Midoriko's fingers grasped even tighter onto the fabric, "The power outage, it happened as soon as I was transferred. My entire phone company was knocked out, just came back on line this morning actually."

"So, there hasn't been any type of filing yet?" asked Rin as she grabbed a jewelry box.

"No, but I intend to do it today, or maybe tomorrow morning. Either way, I'm getting it done," she said sternly.

Rin looked around the room absentmindedly, "Don't worry. None of us are going to try to stop you. Kagome's word is law and you and her made a deal, we will uphold it. Speaking of which, where are Ayame and Sango? I asked them to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Midoriko looked around only to find the clock, "We have been up here for half an hour?"

"Time flies when you are reminiscing. Maybe they are down stairs waiting for us?" suggested Rin as she grabbed one of the larger boxes of clothes that she had packed while the woman before her was talking.

Suddenly Midoriko's phone went off, startling the two. Rin dropped the box in surprise as Midoriko searched her purse anxiously.

The ringtone stopped as soon as the woman pressed the device to her ear, "Hello?"

Rin heard a few mumbles but couldn't make out anything coherent. What she could see as clear as day was the frown that was forming on Midoriko's face.

"She's where?" Rin heard Midoriko ask the person that was on the other line.

"What do you mean the man from the picture is there? That's impossible!" yelled the woman angrily.

"A friend? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she screamed furiously.

"Get her the hell out of there, if it is really the man you say it is. Or better yet…you have a digital feed? Bring one of your guys to my house who can get the video feed from you. There is no way its him," with that said Midoriko flipped her phone shut and looked at Rin.

"We're going down stairs, someone who works for me is telling me some rather…off information," she said as Rin grabbed the box of clothes.

"Alright, but what's going on?" asked Rin as the exited the bedroom.

The two began heading down the stairs, Midoriko constantly checking her phone for new messages while Rin was just trying not to fall over while walking.

As Rin made it down the stairs she was finally able to look at something other than her own two feet. Quite unexpectedly her eye's locked with gold and the box in her hands immediately went crashing down to the ground, clothes scattered everywhere.

"Oh god…" whispered Rin.

Midoriko was suddenly behind her, "I don't know how long it will take him to get here but-" she suddenly crashed into the stunned into submission Rin. After a few minutes of grabbing her bearings Midoriko looked at Rin questioningly, "Why did you stop?"

Rin continued to look forwards and eventually Midoriko turned around to see what had socked her student to the core, only to find herself without the ability to speak.

"Hello Midoriko, I heard you would be around today," spoke a familiar voice. It was the same voice that had haunted Midoriko for the past weeks while both awake and dreaming. It was the same voice she had wanted so badly to hear at her hotel door, it was the same voice that made her skin tingle and her heart beat faster.

"Inutashio…" was what she whispered.

The golden eyed man before her took a step forward to reveal his glory. He was in a black pin stripe suit with a maroon shirt underneath. His hair was in the traditional pony tail that she loved so very much and his piecing golden eyes were focused only on her.

"Speechless, that's a first. It seems it runs in the goddess category," he said as Inuyasha stepped up from behind him.

Rin suddenly found her voice, "That's kidnapping!" she yelled.

Behind Inuyasha were both Ayame and Sango, wrists bound and gags in place. Suddenly there were three others as well. Sesshomaru, Kouga and Miroku were all present as they stood by Rin's bound friends.

"That is me making sure my wife doesn't have an escape plan," he growled at Rin. He then turned his attention back to Midoriko, "I fucking blew out the circuit for half the city to get you to pay attention, now you're going to have a talk with me Midoriko."

The goddesses suddenly found their mouths going dry as they took in what he had said, "Excused me?"

Inutashio smiled when he saw their disbelieving faces, "You changed your fucking number and the idiots at the phone company's refused to give it to me. I didn't even know what plan you were on, so, when I couldn't reach you I called in a favor. It turns out that the man running the power branch here in town has a nephew who goes to Mt. Olympus. With a few extra thousand under his belt, courtesy of me, he closed down all the powered operating machines within a 20 mile radius."

"You-you couldn't have just asked someone for my number?" she yelled.

"No, apparently you like big gestures," he said while smirking.

"You-you are a complete moron. I stand by Kagome on that one! Do you have any idea how much damage was done while all the lines and internet services' were down? Could you be any more of a spoiled kid Inutashio?" she screamed angrily.

"What else was I supposed to do, let you get a divorce? I'm not quite ready to live without you yet!" now he too was yelling.

"…Who told you?" asked Midoriko as she continued to glare at him.

"Your little protégé actually," he said just as angrily.

"Kagome did what?" asked Midoriko again. She immediately turned to look at Rin, as well as the two bound girls that sat by her sons. She frowned when they wouldn't look her in the eye. "You all knew?"

Rin looked down toward the ground, "Not until after she told him."

"You were really going to go through all this without telling me?" asked Inutashio.

She turned back towards him, "Of course I was. Last time I wanted you to come and get me I waited three years, and even then it was up to me. I wasn't about to do that again."

"Well how was I supposed to know exactly what you wanted!" yelled Inutashio.

"You just are! It is how this marriage thing works!" she yelled as her phone started to go off again. She looked down at her screen and scowled at the text message. "Damit, I don't have time for this, he's here."

Inutashio's face visibly paled when he heard her say _he_. "Whose he? Have you been cheating on me?"

It took all her willpower to not growl back at him. Quite furiously she stomped over to the front door right before a knock was heard. The door was swung open with more might than the older woman thought she had. "Get in here and show me exactly what this is all about," she yelled at the man.

The man who was standing at the door looked absolutely terrified, "Did I come at a bad time?" he asked.

From the looks of him he must have been around age thirty, he wore dark slacks along with a dark grey T-shirt. He wore black slack shoes and a dark blue baseball hat on top of his dirty blond hair. As he tried to step inside the house he was immediately stopped by the glare sent his way by the silver haired man who was standing in front of two…bound girls in rope? What the hell did he just walk in on?

"Every time is a bad time. Ignore the moron who thinks he's god's gift to women over there and just show me the damn video," she yelled as she walked into a room off to the right.

"Umm…" he started but was cut off as Midoriko, in her rage, yelled at him to get in there.

He immediately scurried over to the next room in order to set up the equipment he held in his briefcase.

"What the hell?" asked Rin as she looked at her two gagged friends.

When they couldn't answer she gave Inutashio a pleading look to release her friends. He seemed to contemplate the situation before he reached over and grabbed the two girl's hands and pulled their bindings apart.

Almost immediately the two pulled off their gags. Sango was the first to speak, "You know, if that wasn't the most interesting thing that has happened to me this week, I would totally be reporting this right now."

Ayame was next, "Or if this wasn't a confrontation we have been hoping for all week. Any idea who that man was?"

Sango nodded, "I do, though I don't know what he is doing here."

Everyone turned towards the Goddess of Strength as she pulled herself up, "She hired him and his friend to follow Inuyasha last year when he went to Las Vegas. I remembered her talking to him. He's a private investigator, no, scratch that. His friend is the private investigator he's just the regular front man who does a lot of the footwork."

"What?" asked Inuyasha in a disbelieving voice. There was no way his mother had hired a private eye on him…there was just no way.

"I don't know what he is doing here though. The only person I can think of her having followed is Inutashio, you know, with how much she's still in love with him no matter what she tries to tell herself. It would kill her if he did something…irrational," said Sango as she finished her statement.

The boys had the sneakiest suspicion that they were being ignored, or forgotten, either way none of them liked it.

"What about the boys?" asked Rin.

"All here," spoke Ayame.

"Naraku?" continued Sango.

"In jail currently. His parents refused to post bail for the bastard," finished Rin with a sneer.

"Well you certainly seem to hate him now don't you? I mean, I don't think I've ever heard you talk about someone with such disgust Rin," noticed Ayame as she took in her friends hatred.

"Yeah well that is what he gets for attacking my Kagome," she said absentmindedly. Almost immediately she covered her mouth, as if just realizing what she had said.

* * *

Kagome sat in the waiting room as Souta was taken into his own waiting room. Se had figured that as long as they were hear, might as well set in appointments for both of them. The secretary immediately came up to her, "Mind finishing up the paperwork dear?"

Kagome smiled and took the clipboard from the older woman as she filled out both of hers and Souta's information. After filling out all the necessities the nurse who had taken Souta called her back as well.

Kagome quickly undressed, weighed herself, tested her vision and performed all the other basics. Finally she was lead into the same room as her brother. "Is there anyway I could just get my medicine?"

"Sorry, its protocol to see the doctor first. Your usual is actually sick today but there is a volunteer here from the city who is filling the spot. He should be in here in just a minute, he is finishing up with another patient," spoke the nurse sincerely.

"That's alright," Kagome smiled as the nurse walked out of the door.

"Hey sis? I'm bored, can I leave?" asked Souta.

"Sorry, I just have to get something and then we can, just wait until we talk to this new guy and then we can leave," she said apologetically.

"Alright, do you have anything to read?" he asked.

"In my bad, I think I have one of your Motocross magazines" she said absentmindedly.

Souta immediately jumped down from the table and sprinted over to her bag only to start rummaging through it. He suddenly stopped and Kagome could here something being pulled out of her book bag. Kagome assumed he had found the magazine and returned to her random thoughts.

There was just so much to do. Luckily Ayame had taken care of some of the power outage troubles. Originally she had put Sango on the problem only to remember Sango's short temper. Almost immediately she had transferred Ayame to the job, since she was the most people oriented out of all of them. Then there was this whole divorce issue. Mind you, she didn't really know Inutashio all that greatly but he was still a person she had at one point admired.

"Hey sis? Isn't this you?" asked Souta.

Kagome immediately turned around to question her brother only to be shocked to the core. Souta was holding up that day's school newspaper, the page with her and Inuyasha being held up to her.

Suddenly the door opened and Kagome felt a flood of relief wash through her thanks to the very convenient interruption.

"So the nurse said that you need more medication for your infection?" came a voice…a very familiar voice. A voice that made Kagome cry ever time she thought about it. A voice that Souta had asked about repeatedly, a voice that made her scream on the inside.

Kagome slowly turned around, away from one situation and looking strait into an even worse one.

Her eyes met his and both of them stood still in time. The meeting that neither one had counted on happening was happening. She knew that he recognized her from the way that he froze, but he had yet to say anything. His hair had thinned as well as grayed around the edges. Wrinkles that weren't there before also decorated his face, the most prominent ones being around his eyes. Kagome was a little surprised; she had figured more would be around his mouth. When she was little, she had always remembered him smiling.

"Yeah, my sister got a cut at the high school rally track meat. She said she scraped it some how," came Souta's oblivious voice.

"Your sister?" asked the very familiar doctor. It seemed the man had realized that another person was in the room.

Kagome watched as the man took in the small boy in front of him. Se could tell that he was sizing him up from top till bottom. Kagome cut in before any damage could be done, "I forgot about something that I have to do. We need to leave Souta; I'll come back another time."

"But Kagome! We drove all the way out here! You said all he has to do is give you the medicine right?" whined the little brat that she wanted to smother.

"It-it will only take a minute. I'm just going to go over your charts and make sure everything is okay," she said cautiously, like he that with only the slightest movement she would book it out of there like a gazelle being cased by a lion.

Than again, he wasn't exactly far from the truth.

"You seem to be in good health. Nutrition is high, blood pressure low, clotting is good-" but Kagome cut him off.

"The nurse checked those, then okayed those and sent you in here to write a prescription. Can you just write it?"

"Sis!" yelled Souta.

The doctor shushed him, "It's alright, a lot of people get nervous when they are around doctors. I was just checking to make sure you guys are being properly taken care of by you parents."

"Oh, well, we don't have a dad and my mom is…gone a lot. Kagome actually takes care of me and she flips if I don't eat right," he said grumpily.

The doctor looked honestly shocked at his statement, "When was the last time you saw your mother?" is voice was stern now, almost demanding.

Souta picked up the newspaper that had his sister on it, "About…six months ago. She missed my birthday but I'm sure it was important, or else I'm sure she would have been there."

"Souta, that's enough. This guy is a complete stranger, we don't need to be telling him our life story," growled Kagome towards her brother.

"Don't worry…I'm not calling Social Services if that is what you are worried about," was his quick reply.

Kagome glared at him almost before the words made it out of his mouth, "That's not what I am worried about."

Suddenly Kagome's phone started to ring but Kagome ignored it, she was to busy trying to hold her own against the doctor standing in front of her. Unfortunately Souta felt the need to answer it.

"Sis! Its mom!" he yelled as the collar ID flashed the name.

Before she could tell him to put the damn phone down he answered it, "Hey mom…no Kagome's talking to the doctor right now…no I don't think she's spending to much money…when are you coming home?...I'm twelve, not eight…you have another boyfriend? What happened to the last one?...He ran out of money, but…" and then he finished, the line had went dead.

Kagome had closed her eyes as soon as she had heard her brother answer the phone. She didn't want to see Souta's face, nor did she want to see the doctors face. She already knew what both of them would look like.

Suddenly Souta was before her, "Mom said…not to spend money on medicine if you don't have to. She umm…broke up with that one guy and is dating another one from New York." His eyes were downcast and he looked absolutely heart broken.

No matter the man in front of her, she felt the need to cheer her younger brother up, "Don't worry, after this we'll stop by Radio Shack and get that game you wanted. Then when she gets back you can show her and her new boyfriend how good you are."

"Sure, I'm going to be waiting in the waiting room, just, come and get me when you're done," was his answer as he grabbed the newspaper and walked out the door.

As soon as the door shut Kagome felt her mouth run dry. It was like she couldn't swallow.

"Are you…well?" asked the man.

Kagome immediately felt her heart harden, "Stop with the pretenses and just give me my prescription alright."

Then man sat down next to her on the bed in the middle of the small room, the small room that was shrinking by the minute, "I see your mother hasn't changed."

Kagome quickly jumped off the bed as she made her way to the door but he stood up and quickly stopped her, "Let me look at it and I'll write you your prescription."

Kagome wanted to fight him off, to scream and yell at him but she just couldn't summon the willpower to do so, instead she quietly turned back around and gracefully sat back down.

The man immediately went over to her and inspected her wound, "This looks like it was made by fingernails."

Kagome tried not to make a smart ass comment back towards him but it was just so hard, "What do you care?"

He didn't answer back to that, knowing that she had every right to say what she did. A few minutes passed as he cleaned out the wound, "How did you get it?"

Kagome kept silent, knowing that whatever she said wasn't going to be nice.

"Inuyasha take care of the person that did this? You two were always unimaginably close," he said as he re-wrapped the wound.

Kagome visibly winced at the name, "Inuyasha and I don't really talk any more."

"Oh, he and his family were always the one part of your life that my family approved of," he said absentmindedly.

"Yeah well, not all of us follow our parent's word as law," she said angrily.

"…Kagome, I never wanted to leave you and I never thought that your mother was actually pregnant when I left, I thought it was a way for her to keep me around. Please try to-" but he was cut off.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quickly.

"I'm…covering for a friend," he said lamely.

"So you drove to an entirely different city to cover for a friend?" she asked angrily.

"No…I remembered that this was the town that we had lived in and thought maybe I would see you, if you hadn't moved that is," he started.

"Bull shit, used to live in the town? You knew where we were, and you knew about Souta!" she yelled again as she got off the bed yet again.

"Kagome, I am your father you do not talk to me like that," he sneered.

Kagome spun around, "You are not my father! My father is a bastard who left his family because his mother didn't like the arrangement."

"I stayed with your mother because it was the right thing to do once I found out she was pregnant with you," he argued.

"But then you left, you left me alone with her! Grandfather was the only one that saw how much it hurt, and then a month after you left he died! I was all alone with _her_! The self absorbed witch of the west, and then I learn that there was a brother on the way! Mom didn't raise Souta, I did. Since the day you walked out!" she yelled again as she grabbed her book bag and started shoving all the things that Souta had pulled out. "Listen, I'll go to a different doctor if I have to, but I'm leaving."

"Kagome…wait," she turned around just in time to see him writing a prescription for her, "Take this, get that arm fixed and…if you need money just…"

She grabbed the prescription and looked at the man who she used to love, "Souta and I will live in a box before I ever accept your help."

With that said she walked out of the room, straight into the waiting room where her brother sat, nodded to the woman at the front desk and headed out the door. It wasn't until she was at her car that she heard her name being called.

She turned around to see their father in his white doctors coat running towards her. She looked at Souta, knowing there wouldn't be enough time to start the car and drive out of the compound, "Souta get in the car."

He immediately did as she said once he felt the urgency in her voice. The door shut just as the man made it up to her.

"Kagome…please, I miss you."

Kagome glared at him, "You don't even know me."

She turned back around and opened her car door, effectively shutting the door and starting the car. Luckily Souta felt the crackling air around her and didn't ask any questions.

* * *

Inuyasha was suddenly right in front of her, yanking onto her arm, "What the hell did you just say?"

She had never heard anyone sound so furious before, and it made her feel more than uncomfortable. It made her feel fearful. "Nothing, I didn't say an-"

"Don't fucking lie to me! That bastard hurt Kagome!" yelled Inuyasha as his grip tightened on Rin's arm.

"Inuyasha that hurts," she whimpered, hoping it would get him to lighten up on his grip.

"Now Rin!" he screamed furiously.

"Yes alright, he attacked her at the rally okay," she whispered as he finally let up.

"Why the hell didn't anyone tell me!" he scanned the room to see two very confused faces. Sango and Ayame looked just as shocked as he did. "What the hell!"

"They didn't know. I only knew because I walked in on it, as she was getting away from him. Midoriko knows too, but only because she saw the cut that he made on her," reasoned Rin.

The volume and verocity of his voice seemed to become even worse with each syllable he spoke. "Cut? He fucking hurt her. The asswhipe physically hurt her?"

Rin visibly flinched. She had been scared before but this was an entirely new thing all together.

"Would you calm down, Kagome is taking care of it," reasoned Rin once again.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't _she_ tell me?"

"What the hell was she supposed to do? You were avoiding her like the plague. We all already felt guilty enough about not telling you about our goddess positions but you and Kagome have history added on to that already building stress. She was terrified that you would do something about it, or even worse, she was terrified that you wouldn't. Do you have any idea of all the things that must have been running through her head?" said Rin angrily.

"Screw that, I could never _not_ care about Kagome! She's all I fucking think about, every night and every day alright," he screamed yet again.

The room became silent as the words sunk in. Suddenly Sango spoke up, "You are as big of a moron as your father, you know that?"

She then sunk down onto the tile floor, "Women don't really care about big sweeping gestures. Sure, they are nice, but they aren't what we are really after. We just want someone to be there for us and take care of us when we don't want to do it ourselves. We want someone to fight with and to make up with. Someone who may not understand but will always play along anyways."

Sango looked up at Inuyasha, "She thinks you are furious with her. She thinks…that you hate her."

The peaceful moment was killed as a furious Midoriko swung open another door, the same man behind her, "This video wasn't dubbed or anything? No photo shopping for some extra cash?"

"No…it's all real. What's the problem? So this chick and her father meet up? No big deal," said the man as he placed his hands behind his head.

"What!" screamed all three goddess's as they looked at each other.

"That's impossible, Kagome's father is dead isn't he?" asked Ayame.

"No…though sometimes I think Kagome wished he was. He left Kagome and her mother upon his parents pleading. Apparently they didn't really care for their granddaughter…she was of bad blood and that was all that mattered. He left without a word to her. A run-in would not be a good thing right now," finished Midoriko as put on her coat.

"Mom, where are you going?" asked Sesshomaru.

"I am going to find Kagome. Her father was filling in for a friend at the doctors today. The man I hired didn't catch anything aside from her father running out to talk to her," she said while buttoning up her coat. "That girl is practically my daughter and there is no way I am letting her cry herself to sleep, at least not alone."

"Wait, maybe we should go too?" asked Sango.

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. She's already going to be feeling over whelmed, I don't want to add to it. Maybe tomorrow would be better." Midoriko looked back over at the three girls, "bring my stuff over to her house too. I've made a decision, my husband can wait. Kagome is more important than any fight I could ever have with him. I'm moving in with her and helping her take care of Souta. I'm helping with her bills too; I don't care how much money she claims her mother sends her, this ends now."

Midoriko swung around but stopped suddenly when she saw the wide open door in front of her. What? That door was closed just a minute ago; in fact, Inuyasha had just been…Inuyasha.

She spun around again to look at all the occupants of the room. There was no Inuyasha, when had he left?

* * *

Firevixen73- I know, this was so incredibly late, but just one more chapter to go! Can you believe it! I hope everyone like it and that everyone liked the rather large twist I through in there. Please review. I already have half of the next chapter done and I need some inspiration to close it. Thank you so much!


	22. Finally

Inuyasha was running down the street as quickly as his feet were able to carry him. He only lived a couple of blocks away but it felt like miles. He just could get himself to run fast enough, no matter how hard he pushed himself or how hard his muscles strained against gravity.

He needed to be there for her, he was the only one who could be there for her. He was the only one who understood how much her father had hurt her. How much he had shredded her little heart. No one else understood, could understand. No one else was _allowed_ to understand!

Again Inuyasha began to push his feet harder. In any race that he had ran, in any game that he had played, nothing compared to how hard he was pushing himself now. No other prize had been worth it.

He suddenly made his way around the corner and paused just slightly to catch his breath. There the house stood, her car in the front driveway. Slowly, but assuredly, he walked up to the familiar driveway. Absentmindedly he placed his hand on the car's hood, checking to see how warm the engine underneath was. It was slightly warm which meant, if he had to guess, that Kagome had been home for about five or ten minutes.

Without another thought he walked up to the front door, intent on letting her know he was here. He didn't knock, he didn't ring the doorbell, and he didn't climb up through the nearest tree. Instead he walked in, uninvited and uncaring. He was luckily that the front door hadn't been locked, though in his frame of mind it wouldn't have stopped him.

Not much could have.

Without taking off his shoes or his coat he immediately went to the one room where he knew Kagome had always felt the safest. She had to be there.

He passed the family picture that consisted of just her and Souta. He passed the nightstand that held a pile of history books. Inuyasha kept walking strait until he found the door he was looking for. Without another moment's hesitation he stepped into the brightly lit room.

There, sitting on the middle stool with her face in her hands, sat his Kagome.

The girl he had loved since he had followed her around shamelessly when they were kids.

No words were spoken, partly because she didn't realize he was there. Her head was still in her arms that rested on the counter.

He walked up to her in the grace that only he could produce in such a frenzy. Though her body was facing him she still didn't move. He moved behind her and he knew that was when she felt another presence. Her back stiffened and her currently visible fingers clenched. He knew she was broken enough to attack anyone who she didn't know.

He made sure he didn't give her a chance.

Inuyasha quickly wrapped his arms around her small frame. They were immediately around her waist and holding her as close as the stool would let him. He could feel everything that she was feeling, every twist that her body made and every breath that her lungs let out.

He hadn't felt this alive in a while.

"What are you doing here?" came her muffled voice…she had been crying.

He didn't speak for a minute, just relishing in the idea of her talking to him, "I heard about your dad."

"…oh…how?" she asked, her head still in her hands.

"My mom was worried about you…hired a private detective to watch you. Apparently you had a run in with Naraku."

Her form stiffened again and he felt her hand run up her arm. He felt his fury rise at the thought of someone hurting her, "How come you didn't tell me?"

"I…when was I supposed to do that? When we were doing everything to avoid being in the same room or when we were at the rally and Naraku was exposing himself for the jerk he is?" she countered.

He pulled her tighter and lifted her off the stool. She didn't say anything when he did so but he had a feeling it had more to do with her emotional exhaustion rather than how comfortable she felt around him. He placed his right hand up against her back and placed her legs over his left arm.

Slowly but surely he carried her over to the couch in that was in the adjoining room. There was where he sat, a fragile Kagome on his lap. He carefully ran circles with the tips of his fingers all over her body, "No fight we could ever have would make me not want to protect you. Your mine Kagome, don't ever tell yourself anything else."

"But…I lied to you," she didn't look at him; she just buried her head in his shirt.

"And I lied to you… I told you when we were kids that I would always be there for you. I haven't been doing that lately…I'm sorry. If I was the person you have always seen me as none of this would have happened. You never would have gotten hurt, you never would have had to go to the doctors and I wouldn't be going to jail for manslaughter," he said as he buried his own nose in her hair. God he missed how good she smelt.

He head immediately sprung up, but he held her closely, "Inuyasha, what do you mean manslaughter!"

He would have laughed if he wasn't so serious. Instead his fingers pulled her in closer and he breathed in deeper, "I'll kill him for touching you Kagome," his voice was fierce, strong and predatory.

She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her, "I'm tired Kagome…I haven't slept in a while."

But there was something else that radiate from it. She stopped when she heard the exhaustion in his voice.

"I missed you…I used to hate it when you wouldn't talk to me because I did something stupid. I remember because I would get you to pay attention to me by ordering you around, or yelling at you because I knew it would make you mad. I knew you would stay and fight with me…it made me feel like I meant something to you. Even though I hated it when you were angry at me, it was better than nothing," he whispered in her hair.

"Today I walked into the school building and there we were. Everyone was talking about it and I loved the feeling I had when everyone was looking at me like I was the luckiest man alive. Everyone was jealous of me…of us, even if it wasn't real. I had known for a long time that I wanted that to be real, I wanted you to be _mine_. I wanted to tell people that no one came close to you and that I would do _anything_ for you."

"Inuyasha…" but she didn't have anything else to say. She had thought he wasn't in school today, she had thought he hadn't seen.

"Be mine and I'll never ask for anything again Kagome. Say I'm yours and I'll do anything you want…I'll cut my hair like you used to tease me too, I won't talk to my dad again until he shapes up…I'll do anything for you," he growled.

Kagome reached up and ran her fingers through his silver locks.

"Let me take care of you, let me be the one that you wanted me to be when we were kids. Let me protect you," he whispered, "I know it's hard for you, trusting others I mean. Almost as hard as it is for me…but I want to spend my life with you, protecting you…with you."

He finally looked at her, the real her and not just a patch of black hair. Her eyes were glowing with tears, bringing out their brilliance even more than before.

"I've always loved your hair Inuyasha," she smiled as she reached up to run her fingers through the silver locks one more time.

Her body didn't move though, after her fingers had made their way. Her body was inches from his own and he could feel her hot breath cascading over his face. Slowly, almost painstakingly, she pulled herself forward so her lips were centimeters from his own. Her eye's watched his lips closely, though his didn't know why.

It happened in slow motion. She took the slightest movement forward and the barest of contact was made. Her lips were on his and his were on hers. Inuyasha could have felt the butterflies roaming around in his gut, he could have felt the mind blowing sensation of their lips touching, something he had prayed for, for quite some time. He could have felt the explosions going off in his head, like his world was finally spinning in the right direction, but instead he felt something much better.

He felt her.

He felt her unabridged emotions flowing through that slight contact; he felt her pain, her hurt and her desire all in one.

She suddenly pulled back, "I missed you more."

In one fowl swoop he pushed her back down onto the couch, still holding her in his arms, "I doubt that."

He wanted nothing in the world more than to kiss her again, but he knew she wasn't in the right emotional state right now. She was angry, depressed and hurt…no he wouldn't kiss her again…yet anyways. As they lay there on the couch, his arms wrapped so securely around him that a crane wouldn't release her, she did yet another surprising thing. She reached up again and kissed him on his nose. He could feel the tingles in his body she left in her wake. She continued but reaching over to his cheek, leaving the same feeling. Finally Kagome went back down to his lips and left a slight peck.

He pulled her tighter as she whispered, "I've wanted to do that since I met you."

He smiled, "I've wanted you to do that since I met you."

* * *

Over three years later Kagome found herself smiling every day. She hadn't been so happy in a very long time. Inuyasha, though not perfect, was everything she had ever wanted. Every once in a while he even remembered when they were supposed to have dinner together that night.

It was amazing how her life had straightened itself out after that kiss.

Midoriko had shown up with bags the next morning and although Kagome had argued with her about it there was nothing to be done. Kagome no longer missed school in order to make Souta's parent teacher conferences since Midoriko immediately made Souta her business. In all honesty Kagome missed the time she had with her brother, but knew it was for the best. She wasn't a mother, and it was better to pass over the reins to someone who had the ability and time to play homemaker.

What was more surprising was Inutashio. He immediately was at her house…paying her bills. Before he went to talk to his wife or his family the man had went straight to her, apologizing to her. Her? He was sorry about how he had let her down and was going to do anything he could to make it up to her. Almost immediately she was skeptical since she had never really spent time with him but he had continued to surprise her.

He showed up for every game, every practice with the boys and eventually knew the plays as well as she did. One day she had been late and he was leading her team in a game. Afterwards he had apologized for taking over like that…she had been too happy to notice. Souta absolutely adored him, possibly more than he did Inuyasha…maybe. He had immediately taken over the father role for both of them. It was like he was trying to make up for lost time, not just with his wife and sons, but the time that he could have been spending getting to know her and Souta.

He even threatened Inuyasha one night about treating a woman with respect and if he found out Inuyasha attempted anything he'd get out his gun.

Kagome had randomly cried throughout that entire dinner because she was so happy.

Absentmindedly, as she reminisced, Kagome continued her dusting as she brought another box upstairs from the basement. Inuyasha had bought them a condo not three blocks away from the school she was going to. She had immediately said that she wasn't going to live with him since it went against her morals. Kagome didn't care what other people believed but she was standing up for what she wanted. In fact, she was slightly appalled that Inuyasha had even suggested it.

Initially she worried that he didn't know her as well as she thought he did.

That was until he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

Kagome stared down at her ring.

Normally she wasn't for the whole marriage thing when they were so young but she figured her and Inuyasha had waited since preschool. He hadn't pressured her or anything after they graduated either. I guess he figured that they were ready now that they both had two years of college under their belt.

In the end though Kagome still wasn't sure that it was good to get married so soon, even though she knew they could never find a better match no matter how long anyone looked. Perhaps this was the right choice, after all, her biggest fear of becoming her mother hadn't happened yet, so she shouldn't let her fears of marring to young like her own parents get in her way of happiness.

Souta was actually going to live with Midoriko and Inutashio, who were currently doing much better. Both were in couples therapy and almost done according to their therapist. Though, Kagome had a feeling that they only went so Midoriko could point out how right she was about everything and Inutashio only paid for it since it made his wife so happy. Kagome was more than excited though. In fact, they were going to Europe this summer and Souta was going with them. For the first time the boy was going to be the one making the calls from far off countries.

Speaking of far off countries…her mother wasn't around anymore. The first time she had called had been awkward, then afterwards Midoriko and Inutashio had sent off the adoption papers for Souta. Of course it wasn't until they sent the nice two million dollar bribe that her mother signed the papers.

In reality, Kagome knew both of them would have gone much higher than that.

Kagome reached into the box and pulled out the VHS inside. Suddenly she couldn't remember what was on the tape…it had to have been old if it was a VHS. She turned it over and smiled as she saw the labeling.

Suddenly she felt arms wrap themselves around her. A small kiss also made its way to her cheek, "What you smiling about?" asked Inuyasha.

Kagome held up the tape so her fiancé could see the label, "July 7, 2003? Isn't that the date that the girls were freaking out about at the food fight?"

Kagome smiled, "That would be the one."

Inuyasha smirked, "Anything worth blackmailing on that thing?" His grin looked sinister.

She laughed, "Nothing that could work now. Not with Sesshomaru and Rin expecting their first kid, Sango and Miroku living together and Ayame and Kouga's on and off and on again relationship."

"So what's on it?" he asked honestly curious.

Kagome turned around so she could sit properly in his lap, "We were just kids when we did it. We were in the middle of a sleep over when I asked a truth or dare question. It was Ayame's but she couldn't decide what she wanted so the others agreed to do it with her if she just made up her mind. Eventually she picked truth and since I was feeling especially evil that night I asked her to tell me who she liked and why."

Inuyasha's eyebrows rose, "What's so great about that?"

"Ayame started blushing as she whispered Kouga. She was in all actuality madly in love with him, continued on till this day, but at the same time hated him for being such an arrogant jerk. That's why she punched him after the food fight. Ayame loved him like none other and would date him in a heartbeat if he wasn't as mean to her as a kid."

Inuyasha frowned, "You're kidding?"

Kagome shook her head, "Rin and Sango's were much the same. Madly in love with the biggest ass's around and totally embarrassed and ashamed by it."

"It's a shame no one made you do it…" he nipped at her neck lovingly.

"No one had to, everyone knew who I was in love with…they just didn't have it on film," she laughed.

"I was an idiot," he countered.

"We both were…speaking of idiots, I checked up on Naraku yesterday," she immediately felt Inuyasha's anger rise. He never had quiet gotten over the incident with him attacking her, "He's currently been moved to a maximum security prison, in solitary confinement for his own protection. Apparently the inmates like his pretty face and long hair."

Inuyasha smirked, "Serves the bastard right, no one touches what is mine."

Kagome laughed again at his possessiveness, she had come to love and appreciate it a long time ago. Kagome suddenly stood up from his lap and he let loose a loud whimper at the loss of contact, "Don't start that, we have dinner with your parents tonight and I don't want to be late. I only have so much time with everyone before they leave."

He tried to pull her back down, "They are only going to be gone a month."

Kagome resisted as he tried to hold her, "And then after that I'm going to be back at college, then when will I see them?"

He finally stood up, realizing she wasn't going to budge, "We'll live fifteen minutes away. It will hardly be different. You are always over at my house anyways; I doubt you'll let yourself stay away for long."

"Fifteen minutes is a lot longer than fifteen seconds you know," she giggled as he picked her up like a sack and carried her outside to his motorcycle, only putting her down when he had to.

"I'm looking forward to it. By the way, Sesshomaru and Rin are stopping by too," he said as he sat down on his motorcycle.

Kagome quickly strapped herself onto his back, "I look terrible."

"You look great," he argued.

"I have dust all over me," she tried.

"Mom and dad won't care, in fact, they probably prefer it this way. That way they can check to see if I've touched you," he said while rolling his eyes.

Kagome giggled, "Why are we taking your bike? You and your parents live like what? Three blocks away?"

Inuyasha smirked as he handed her the helmet, "I was driving around last night, after you kicked me out for being too frisky."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I remember, you told Souta it was big boy and big girl time."

"As I was saying, I was driving and I found this place that I think you'll love. It looks like the church you had in that picture from the magazine when we were kids."

Kagome's eyes went wide, "How in the world did you remember that?"

He started the bike, "I remember everything you say…most of the time. You know when you're not nagging me."

She punched him lightly on the arm.

"Anyways, it's not the same exactly and could use some good fixing up but I like it."

Kagome smiled, perhaps they could get married in July…maybe the 7th? It was going to be a small weeding after all so there wasn't a huge need for planning.

That could work, it would be her memento to the July 7th tell all session, after all, she never got to explain that she was in love too.

She held Inuyasha closer as he drove, "Does July 7th work for a date? Your parents and Souta would be back by then right?"

It was almost as if she could feel Inuyasha smiling. She knew he had been aggravated that she hadn't picked a date yet. He was incredibly anxious to walk down that isle for some reason, maybe he really did love her as much as he said. Then again, it might just be that possessive streak emerging yet again.

"July 7th sounds great," was all he said as they drove further into the city.

* * *

**Firevixen73**- It is done! Oh my gosh! Can you believe it? I hope everyone like it and thank you so much for sticking with me for so long. You are amazing and I hope everyone knows that. Thank you so much! As a side note, I also just released another story called _**Kagome's Trial**_. Please check it out. Hopefully you will like that one as much as you liked this one.


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